Dead in the Water
by x Varda x
Summary: When a weapons test on the Daedalus goes disastrously wrong, the ship is left in the middle of deep space without any power. The crew have very little hope of surviving whilst they await rescue. That's not the only thing they have to worry about though...
1. Reputation

**Disclaimer** - "Stargate" and all related characters are the property of MGM Television Entertainment.  
**Rating** – T  
**Summary** – When a weapons test on the Daedalus goes disastrously wrong, the ship is left in the middle of deep space without any power. The crew have very little hope of surviving whilst they await rescue. That's not the only thing they have to worry about though...  
**Setting** –Sometime during the first half of Season 5  
**Characters** – McKay, Caldwell, a few OCs, Zelenka, team Atlantis.

_**Chapter 1 – Reputation**_

"_Caldwell to all hands. We're approaching Atlantis."_

Engineer Dr Mark Thompson nodded at his commanding officer. She returned the gesture as Thompson checked the energy flow to the sublight engines for anomalies. He did not find any, so he sat back in his chair and surveyed main engineering as a crewman walked through and hastily picked up several stray tablets adorned with the same schematic that Thompson himself knew back to front after staring at the diagrams for the past two weeks.

Chief Engineer Levitt was nervously retying her dark brown hair into the tight and practical bun she always wore. Thompson watched her for a moment and frowned. This was also going to be his first meeting with the infamous Dr Rodney McKay, whose impressive accomplishments were spoken of in hushed voices everywhere he went. They were also backed up and proven in many mission reports and he was surprised to have found out that most of the tales he had heard were not exaggerated.

Thompson had been on many supply runs back and forth from Earth to Atlantis on the Daedalus. The engineering team rarely left the ship as the hyperdrive had to be carefully checked to make sure there were no errors or faults when it was reengaged for the taxing return trip to Earth. By the time they had finished their work it was always time to go home.

Thompson sighed and tapped a few buttons on the panel in front of him as the helmsman far away on the bridge set the Daedalus in a geosynchronous orbit above the city resting on the ocean many miles below them.

Levitt glanced across at him so he announced, "Orbit is holding steady. Energy distribution normal."

She smiled, "Good, we want to make a good impression."

Thompson replied, "Yes." His voice sounded forced though.

"_Caldwell to engineering."_

Levitt stood up from the central control panel and went over to the wall next to the main schematic of the ship. She tapped the comm, "This is Levitt, go ahead."

_"Dr McKay is keen to get started. He will be beaming up with his team in a couple of minutes."_

Levitt raised her eyebrows, "He sure doesn't waste any time, sir."

"_That he doesn't. I hope you've tidied your room, Jo."_

She laughed, "Yes, sir! I can't answer for the cleanliness of the conduits around the sublight thrusters though!"

"_Just cover them up with a blanket."_

She grinned and replied, "I'll do my best, sir."

"_Good. Standby."_

Levitt turned around from the wall panel and faced the centre of the room. Thompson looked around and saw that the rest of the engineering team were assembling to attention while they waited for the arrival of the party.

Thompson glanced down at the panel again and satisfied that nothing was going to explode for the next few minutes, he stood up and went over to stand by his commanding officer. She shared a small smile with him and brushed her hands over her jumpsuit to smooth out some of the creases.

Thompson thought that if anyone should be apprehensive of meeting the scientists he should be. He was the one who had spent most of the time over the last few weeks assembling the schematic they had been sent into something that could actually be seen and used. Then again, any mistakes would be reflected on the Chief Engineer rather than himself.

He had also heard many more stories of sarcastic comments and the abrasive nature of Rodney McKay spoken about in the officer's mess more frequently than stories of his achievements.

Thompson was therefore not all that surprised when the Asgard beam flashed bright white in the centre of the room in front of him and McKay appeared in person. He immediately turned to Levitt and said, "Are you the one in charge around here? Shall we get started?"

Levitt stepped forward and held out her hand with an ingratiating smile, "I'm Dr Sarah Levitt. Welcome back to the Daedalus, Dr McKay."

He nodded in slight confusion and then passed his tablet to her, not realising that she wanted to shake his hand. Her face fell a little as she took the computer and tapped some of the keys to reveal a schematic similar to the one they had been working on. Thompson squinted over her shoulder to see the diagram and felt his heart sink.

McKay pointed to the diagram and said, "I've made some modifications. Nothing major, but it'll make the upgrades even more efficient than before."

Levitt turned to Thompson and passed him the tablet, "Mark, please review the schematic and implement the changes."

McKay said, "Get Zelenka to help you."

Thompson looked up at the scientist who was gesturing to a smaller man behind him with flyaway hair and glasses. Thompson turned to Levitt who gave him a warning look, "Go ahead," she approved.

"Yes, sir." Thompson did not want to start taking orders from civilians on his own ship; he thought it best to follow the proper chain of command.

Levitt turned to the other engineers behind her, "Crewmen Foster and Jones, show our guests to their quarters."

McKay spun around and looked over at his team. Thompson counted four more scientists in addition to McKay and Zelenka. They nearly all turned away under his searching gaze, but Zelenka gave him a nod of encouragement. McKay said, "With all due respect, I'd like to brief your staff about the mission and then check over your work."

Levitt seemed affronted and folded her arms over her chest, "I assure you, Doctor, we've followed your instructions to a T."

McKay frowned and then shrugged, "Just to be sure. Then it'll only take a few minutes for the modifications to be completed."

Levitt nodded and announced to the gathered crewmembers, "Alright. Let's get started everyone. Briefing in an hour."

Thompson was close enough to hear her mutter under her breath as the rest of the engineering staff dispersed. She stood closely to McKay and said, "A word, Doctor."

His expression was puzzled, but she was looking back at him with her eyes intense and dangerous. Not a trace of the earlier anticipation and happiness to meet him was apparent in her features anymore.

He sighed and followed her as she led the way out of engineering. Thompson hoped she was going to put him in his place. She was in charge when it came to matters of the ship systems and Thompson had seen a power struggle developing.

Thompson felt the corners of his mouth turning up into a smile at the thought. He had disliked McKay in his mind ever since he had heard of him. He could not understand how a single man could have done so much and it made him feel slightly sick. Now he had come to undo all the work they had accomplished in the last two weeks. He was loathed to let McKay order everyone around like it was his own ship or just his next little experiment and then take all the credit himself as Thompson assumed from reading the mission reports.

"Hello, you are Dr Mark Thompson?"

He looked up and saw the man McKay had referred to as Zelenka looking at him with an excited and eager expression. He had a slight accent and Thompson caught sight of a Czech flag patch on the scientist's sleeve. He hoped that language was not going to be a barrier and nodded back at him, "Yes, you're Dr Zelenka?"

"Dr _Radek_ Zelenka." He pointed down at the tablet still in Thompson's hand and said, "Shall we start. It is mostly code work and a small component we have already constructed that just needs to be installed."

The other four scientists came over and together they worked through the changes and upgraded the project even further. Thompson found himself secretly impressed with the modifications and felt himself seething slightly inside as he finished the last line of code.

His mood was not alleviated by how the four scientists, and even Zelenka, went through every line of code and then two of them went away to check the device installed.

Thompson was sure that McKay had put them up to it and his lowering estimation of the man sunk right down to the floor. McKay's distrust of the Daedalus crew was open to see by all, it was almost like he was worried that he would take the fall for anything that went wrong. His massive ego was obviously far too large to take it if he or one of the Daedalus crew made a mistake in his precious project.

* * *

An hour later, Thompson was still feeling angry as he stood in the briefing room with the full engineering team. Colonel Caldwell had also turned up to watch the scientists outline their mission plan.

McKay stood in front of the display screen looking mightily pleased with himself. His eyes swept across the gathered crowd and his smug smile became even more apparent.

Thompson felt his brow deeply creasing as he frowned at the man from where he was standing at the back of the room. He wanted to see everyone else's reactions to the Atlantis team. Several were looking apprehensive, but Chief Engineer Levitt was looking at McKay neutrally.

McKay said, "Okay people. The modifications to the Asgard beam weapons are complete. Zelenka assures me all the errors have now been corrected and we're ready for our first test."

Radek was standing near the front with the other scientists and Thompson watched as he looked away with a slightly embarrassed expression as McKay nodded at him. When McKay turned back to the crowd he shot everyone an apologetic look.

McKay continued, "I'm going to take a final look over the code with Dr Levitt while we go to these coordinates."

He pointed a controller at the screen and a map of the Pegasus Galaxy flashed up. The display zoomed into a system several light years away. He continued, "Plenty of asteroids for us to destroy while we test the upgrades. Atlantis is loaning us the use of a Puddle Jumper so that we can take additional readings during the test."

Caldwell asked, "What exactly have you asked my crew to do to my ship, Doctor?"

McKay smiled happily and waved his controller holding hand about in wild and enthusiastic gestures as he spoke. Thompson felt his rage levels building but pushed them down so that they remained carefully hidden.

"We, or more specifically I, have been working on a way to increase the yield of the Asgard beam weapons. They will use less energy and be able to sustain bursts for a longer period of time than before."

Thompson frowned and asked, "What about the overheating problem? We're currently running them on the highest safe yield we can fire without destroying ourselves in the process."

Caldwell looked at him and then back at McKay for his explanation. McKay spoke in a patronising tone which did nothing for Thompson's opinion of the man, "That's the device we got you to build. It passes the excess heat back into the system instead of venting it into space. Therefore it uses less energy and we can safely increase the beam strength to at least 110% of what it currently is without any danger."

McKay glared around the room, daring anyone else to ask a question. None were forthcoming and Caldwell went over and stood at the front of the room next to McKay. He said, "Alright everyone. You've all worked really hard over the last couple of weeks. But there's still a lot of work to be done. We will break orbit in the next hour or so when the Jumper is onboard. It should take us a few hours to reach the site."

Thompson was glad that at least his commander was showing some gratitude over what they had all achieved; unlike McKay, who just seemed like a man who viewed other people as tools to bend to his will.

Caldwell said, "Dismissed." He then tapped his radio and headed up to the bridge.

Thompson let McKay and Levitt leave together and then followed them as they went back to engineering. He watched them working together out of the corner of his eye in loathing as he monitored the engines and made sure the hyperdrive was functioning properly ready for their next trip.

* * *

TBC


	2. Asteroids and Shadows

_**Chapter 2 – Asteroids and Shadows**_

Sheppard flew the Jumper out of the atmosphere of the planet now home to Atlantis. He guided it towards the tiny glint he saw reflected in the sun a short distance away. He activated the comm, "Sheppard to Daedalus."

"_Caldwell. Go ahead, Colonel."_

"I've got the ship you requested, sir."

"_The garage is open."_

Sheppard smiled, "Acknowledged."

He flew the Jumper into the open hanger and parked it between a couple of F302s where a space had been cleared. He lowered the rear hatch and walked through the ship to find McKay.

He headed straight for engineering and found he had been correct in his assumption of where his friend would be. He spotted Rodney leaning over a console next to a woman with long brown hair tied back behind her head so tightly that her face was slightly stretched.

Sheppard recognised her as the chief engineer, Dr Joanna Levitt. She was engaged in a heated discussion which would have sounded like an argument to a casual observer.

Another engineer was glaring daggers at them as he hunched over a panel on the other side of the room. His short black hair was on end where he had probably run his hands through it in exasperation after his first encounter with McKay.

He locked eyes with Sheppard and his expression was long suffering as he tilted his head in the direction of the raised voices.

Sheppard stopped in front of them and asked loudly, "I hope you're not ignoring her, McKay? You should listen when she tells you you're going to blow up her pristine ship."

Rodney stopped speaking and straightened up with a grimace, "No. I was just pointing out the finer points of this energy flow schematic and how the 'two' I found on the second line really should be a 'three;' otherwise one of her crew may cause the ship to become nothing but a cloud of tiny metal fragments."

Levitt frowned and rolled her eyes behind his turned back. John smirked at her and then looked at Rodney, "You sure you don't want Teyla, Ronon and me to come with you?"

Rodney glanced down at his computer, "Yes. You've got your responsibilities on Atlantis and I'm surrounded by enough military types to keep me out of trouble."

_I hope so_, Sheppard thought. He said, "Alright. Well it's only four days. I'll see you later and good luck with the test."

McKay smiled at him lopsidedly and said, "Okay, thanks."

John tapped his radio, "Sheppard to the bridge."

Caldwell answered again, _"We're about to break orbit. Is the Jumper secure?"_

"Yes, sir. I'm ready to beam back down."

"_Standby."_

Sheppard quickly remembered and said to Rodney, "Oh, bring me a souvenir rock sample. Preferably with a nice black Asgard beam scorch mark."

His vision was obscured by white light as the last word left his mouth. He thought he had seen McKay nod at him, but his view melted into the Atlantis control room before he had been sure.

He walked up and stood next to Mr Woolsey, Ronon and Teyla as they watched the display showing the Daedalus in orbit. He shook his head at them as they gave him questioning glances.

Teyla said, "Well, Rodney does not really need us on this mission. He is perfectly safe on the Daedalus and it is only for a few days."

Ronon grunted in agreement and then mumbled, "There's a gate in the system. If they need any help they can call us."

Sheppard frowned and then smiled, "I know. It just feels like we're abandoning him with people he doesn't know."

Teyla frowned, "Dr Zelenka and several members of the science staff are with him. He will be fine."

The technician announced, "They have left orbit and are entering hyperspace."

Sheppard watched the display with the others as the Daedalus blip vanished from the screen.

After a few seconds Ronon asked, "Who's up for lunch?"

Sheppard smiled as he walked away with the remainder of his team, but he could not help the unsettled feeling inside him at not having McKay within radio contact. Maybe he had just got far too used to having him around and being the one in charge of watching over his friend in the past few years.

He shook himself out of his thoughts and cursed his over protectiveness as he went into the mess hall. He joined the queue with a tray to grab something to eat before the afternoon training session with the marines.

* * *

Another asteroid peeled apart in a growing cloud of debris and small rocks. The blue light of the scything beam that had destroyed the floating rock in the massive belt immediately stopped. The ship it had emanated from hung in space and a much smaller ship kept a safe distance to closely monitor the destruction.

Zelenka looked out of the window of the Puddle Jumper and then analysed the data just sent to the tablet plugged into the sensors. The pilot, Captain Edwards, backed the craft away from the spinning rock fragments as some came closer to where they were.

Radek frowned down at the data and said, "Rodney, there was a minor fluctuation at zero point five seconds again."

"_Yes, yes, yes. I'm on it," _was the exasperated reply over the radio.

"The new device needs to be activated a fraction of a second before the beam is fired or the lag will keep occurring."

"_I know, Radek!"_ McKay snapped back over the comm.

Zelenka sighed and looked out of the window while he waited until the new configuration was complete. He watched the asteroids spread out in front of them with Edwards. The sun reflected from the rocks and the more distant ones looked like tiny misshapen moons as they slowly drifted through space.

After a few minutes Captain Edwards asked, "So, how much are you going to push the beams?"

"They are currently at 105% while we individually adjust each one of the emitters for the upgrade until we are sure they are working properly."

Edwards nodded while he tapped the controls.

McKay announced over the radio, _"The adjustment's complete. Transmitting next target."_

Edwards brought up the HUD and flew the Jumper to the location indicated.

Radek watched as another beam arced from the Daedalus and obliterated a large rock into nothing but dust and shards. He mumbled, "Tenth time lucky..."

Edwards smiled across at him and nodded, "Yes, I'll be glad for a nice relaxing shift at the helm after this excitement."

Radek analysed the data and a grin spread across his face, "I think we've done it!"

His voice carried through the radio and Rodney eagerly said, _"Increasing to maximum 110%!" _There was a brief pause and he added, _"You'd better back off a little bit more. I think this one will melt anything in the vicinity; even Puddle Jumpers with shields."_

Edwards once again lined them up for the next asteroid marked by the signal from the Daedalus. Radek glanced out of the window and then down at his tablet with a smile as he waited for the results after the next shot was fired.

* * *

Dr Thompson kept a careful eye on the energy distribution graph during and after each use of the Asgard beam. He had acknowledged that the device was a success after the first shot, even though it needed some minor calibrations before it would be perfect. Deep down he was disappointed that it was working, his dislike for the man standing on the opposite side of the room twisted even more. He would have enjoyed seeing McKay's smug face crumple into misery when the man finally received another failure to add to his infuriatingly short list.

It was not that Thompson was jealous because he was unintelligent. He had enough high level degrees to give even the great Rodney McKay a run for his money. He just lacked the practical experience under pressure and the galaxy sized ego that McKay had nurtured throughout his life.

The radio chatter between the Daedalus and the Puddle Jumper was coming over the main speaker so that everyone in engineering and on the bridge knew what was going on.

Levitt was sitting next to McKay as they configured the device remotely from the main console in the middle of the room.

They were just about to test the highest yield when Zelenka said over the radio, _"We are detecting something on the sensors. It appears to be a shadow."_

Thompson knew that was bad news, but the pilot on the Jumper asked, _"What is it?"_

McKay looked up from where he had been staring down at the screens and said patronisingly, "It means that your little ship and our much larger ship have triangulated yet another ship in the area."

Thompson felt a deep frown forming on his forehead as McKay insulted his fellow crewmember's intelligence. His anger only increased further as McKay gestured with his hands to each slowly drawn out syllable.

Levitt looked across at Thompson and asked, "Are _we_ detecting anything?"

He quickly neutralised his expression and changed to the sensors. He shook his head, "No. But they could've masked their approach using the asteroids."

McKay was gazing at him curiously and then frowned slightly, "Or they may have been hiding behind one of the planets."

Thompson shot him what he hoped was a scathing look, but McKay had already tilted his head back down to analyse the data on the screen in front of him.

Caldwell spoke through the open radio channel, _"Looks like our game of Asteroids is over for the time being. I've recalled the Jumper and we're on an intercept course. If it's the Wraith, maybe we can really find out what these weapons can now do."_

Thompson looked up from his screen just in time to see McKay sharing a smile with Levitt and he sighed quietly. The scientist from Atlantis was simply impossible for him to get along with. The superior looks and comments grated him so much he had to grit his teeth on occasions to bite back a reply.

McKay already seemed to have endeared himself to chief engineer Levitt and just about everyone else around him was now worshipping at the altar of Rodney McKay.

Thompson was not going to let his guard down though, so he continued to make sure the results were accurate and nothing was missed.

* * *

"We have the Jumper, sir," Major Marks announced from his seat at the weapons console on the bridge.

Caldwell said, "Raise the shields and have the F302s standing by." He turned in his chair to Crewman Saunders standing at the console behind, "Anything on the sensors yet?"

"No, sir. The data from the Jumper puts the shadow behind an asteroid on our current trajectory."

He nodded at them and then tapped his radio, "Caldwell to engineering."

"_Levitt."_

"Ask Dr McKay and his team to reduce the output of the beam back to 105%."

"_Yes, sir."_

Caldwell was not surprised when an annoyed and insistent voice spoke through the channel, _"But this is the perfect time to test it at full capacity!"_

"I disagree, Dr McKay. We know it works. I'm not going to risk my ship in a live combat situation."

Levitt seemed to have pushed him away or at least warned him as she replied, _"He understands, sir. We're adjusting it now."_

Saunders interrupted them, "The ship has moved into sensor range. It's a Wraith Cruiser! They're launching darts!"

"Can we escape into hyperspace?"

"No, sir," the Helmsman replied. "There are too many asteroids around us to create a stable field."

Caldwell's mind kicked up another gear from where it had been ticking over in apprehension of what was about to happen. He kept his voice even as he calmly relayed his orders to the crew. "Launch 302s to intercept. Take us out of the main part of the asteroid belt and begin evasive manoeuvres. Move us within firing range as soon as possible."

Each member of his crew replied, "Yes, sir!" He received confirmation that the beam was adjusted and ready from his chief engineer.

Caldwell watched and waited as the pieces moved into place and the battle begun.

* * *

TBC


	3. Firefights and Flames

_**Chapter 3 – Firefights and Flames**_

F302s wove around the darts approaching the Daedalus. They expertly dodged the attacks aimed at them and fired back straight and true to destroy the darts before they reached the ship they protected.

Some darts came near the Daedalus, but they were no match for the rail guns and shields and were soon reduced to nothing more than particles of debris spreading out in the frictionless vacuum.

In engineering, Thompson watched the shields and rerouted power to necessary sections to make sure they were evenly protected when a dart got a lucky shot or collided with them.

Levitt was double checking the Asgard beam weapons with McKay. He turned to her and said quietly, "We should increase the beam power to 110%. I know the modifications will work and we could take out that cruiser before it can squeeze a single shot at us."

Levitt sighed heavily and Thompson continued to strain his ears to hear what they were saying. She turned to him and firmly said, "No. The Colonel's orders stand. You could swear to me all day long that it would work, but I still wouldn't do it. I'd rather it took one more second, than we ended up with no weapons at all if it overloads."

McKay glared back at her briefly and she returned the expression without flinching. Thompson smiled when McKay's eyes softened and he mumbled something inaudible under his breath. Levitt turned back to the console after he had looked away and shook her head slowly as if an insect was bothering her.

Thompson had the data up on another screen nearby so that he could look at the readings for the Asgard beam weapons himself when there were minute lulls in the attack.

He could not see anything wrong with the set up, so he went back to tapping the controls to keep the shields at their full potential.

On the bridge, Caldwell asked, "Weapons range?"

Major Marks was gazing down intensely at the controls in front of where he was sitting, "Thirty seconds."

Caldwell nodded, "As soon as we're in range, open fire."

"Yes, sir."

Back in engineering, Thompson took another opportunity to glance across at the data from the beam weapons. He suddenly saw an alarming power fluctuation in the readout and did not even have time to fully yell, "Abort!" before there was a massive impact underneath them. There was a sound was of tearing and twisting hull metal and roaring fire.

He fell from his seat and was thrown savagely up into the air as the deck jolted alarmingly. As he fell back down he caught a glimpse of McKay and Levitt landing heavily on the floor on the other side of the room. Before he slammed into the deck himself, Thompson had seen McKay rolling over to cover Levitt with his own body as a ceiling support buckled and fell down towards her.

The lights immediately turned out and left nothing but pitch black and a dull whooshing sound from somewhere close at hand.

Maybe he had been wrong about his perceived selfishness of McKay after all. He no longer had any time to ponder his new train of thought as he hit the floor and the darkness blanketed his awareness as well as his sight.

* * *

"It's quiet."

"He has only been gone for a few hours, Ronon."

"I'd make the most of it. It's only for four days," Sheppard said.

John, Teyla and Ronon were sitting at a table in the mess hall. John was typing up a mission report on his tablet, while Teyla and Ronon had stopped by to keep him company.

John sighed and ran his hand through his hair as he leant back in his chair. They always did everything as a team and he knew he should have pushed Woolsey and Caldwell to let them accompany McKay on the mission. He had allowed himself to be convinced that they were needed more on Atlantis and could not be spared. Sheppard had had no comeback as he could not really justify their presence on a ship already filled with military personnel.

He glanced across at the empty chair at the table with them and then continued to type on his tablet.

* * *

The first sensations to return to Thompson were of smoke, heat and fire. There was something else though, and it took Thompson a while to figure it out as his fuzzy mind reengaged.

There was no pressure anywhere on his body. He thought he should have been resting on the floor, but he could not feel the stiffness or bite from where he had fallen and lain still for however long his body had needed to recover. His training, combined with the way his stomach rolled slightly, confirmed his condition to him. He was weightless.

A high pitched and panicky voice broke through, "Dr Thomas! Are you awake?" There was a pause filled with a savage hacking cough and a moan. The voice suddenly became more urgent and squeaked as it continued, "There's a fire. I need your help to put it out. Please wake up!"

Thompson felt something gently tugging at his sleeve and frowned as he opened his eyes. He blinked through the smoke and saw that the whole scene was illuminated in dull shades of orange as a nearby fire crackled and burned. There was no gravity to hinder the watery flow of the flames as they washed over the wall a few metres away. A large bulkhead was lying diagonally from the ceiling to the floor and the walls he could see were blackened and warped.

Thompson looked at the man still clutching his sleeve and muttered, "McKay…"

Thompson was fairly certain that McKay had caused the malfunction which had led to the power fluctuation and explosion. He had been the last one to manipulate the controls for the Asgard beam. Thompson was unsure whether it was the stress of the attack or perhaps the infallible and all knowing Rodney McKay had finally made a fatal mistake.

There was no-one else with access immediately before the explosion, only Levitt. Thompson had been working with her for long enough to know that she would never do it. McKay on the other hand… he was an impostor on the Daedalus.

Maybe he had thought he could increase the power to 110% and then pretend he had not noticed or that he was just taking the initiative when everyone patted him on the back and stroked his ego when it was a complete success. Only he had failed and now they had no power.

Thompson also had no idea whether the Wraith cruiser had been destroyed or was bearing down on them at that very moment to finish what was left of the Daedalus.

The expression he received from McKay in the dim light was filled with terror and Thompson inwardly groaned at what he was about to have to endure with the other man. He stretched out his legs and pushed them off the floor so that he floated over to the emergency supplies.

McKay quickly said, "I've already tried using an extinguisher, but it didn't work. We need to turn it off manually."

Thompson glanced back at him and frowned. He thought it was strange that McKay was now only deciding to play with others as something had gone wrong. Thompson's growing sense of unease intensified further when he noticed that McKay's jacket was missing and one of his pale arms was wrapped around his midsection as he floated in the cloud of smoke.

Thompson called out to him, "The panel on your right should deactivate it!"

"I've already tried that! There's no power. What do you take me for? Just another jarhead marine?" McKay grimaced and coughed again. Thompson watched as a visible shudder ran through McKay's body and he pressed his arm down more firmly against his stomach and furrowed his brow.

Suddenly the other man looked all too human and vulnerable in his pain and fear. He had finally been reduced from the lofty heights of smug superiority and was revealing himself to be not as much of a superhero as the mission reports and rumours had led them all to believe.

Thompson felt a grim satisfaction that McKay could actually be hurt just like everyone else, as some of the reports he had seen had made him out to be an invincible superhero. Thompson would need to straighten out the records if he survived what was happening to get a chance.

McKay winced and placed his other bare forearm on his midsection. His wide and scared eyes locked with Thompson's in the dark. At that moment, McKay looked physically fragile and like he would be easily broken through his low tolerance of the pain.

There was no time for offering any first aid and Thompson also felt like he needed some too as his head throbbed as he inhaled more of the choking fumes. Unfortunately they would both have to wait and take stock of their injuries later.

The top priority at that moment was finding a way to stop the fire otherwise it would spread throughout the ship and consume their oxygen until they were all dead. He had no idea where everyone else was and the preservation of those who were conscious was paramount to make sure the luckier ones could then assist those who were still unable speak.

Thompson reached the wall by the emergency kit. He quickly pulled the bag away and slung the strap over his shoulder. He then pushed off again and drifted towards the manual shutoff valve for the power conduit which was on fire.

He shouted to McKay, "I need you to pull the other one on your side. It's probably affecting more than one relay."

McKay whimpered and muttered, "Why do you think I woke _you_ up!? I can't move anymore. I think I've broken half my ribs and the internal bleeding…" He inhaled a sharp breath and fought back another coughing fit. He said in a broken and sad voice, "It hurts _so_ much!"

Thompson was unsure whether to believe him or not. He could just be another scientist holding up their reputation as being geeky wimps who spent all their time sitting at computers in nice, clean, danger free labs. He had read differently in the mission reports he had seen involving McKay, so the other man's current comments were completely irrational. If McKay had truly experienced what was written about him, then why was he still acting as though he was weak and frightened?

He narrowed his eyes and saw that McKay was looking back at him with his face contorted in pain. The fire flared and the light level in the room increased. Thompson could see that McKay was trembling now that he was more visible. Whether in nerves or pain, he was unsure. He hoped it was through fear, because Thompson was not evil and he did not wish hurt upon anyone else no matter how much he disliked or hated them. Thompson knew he may also have been wrong about McKay and he could very well be seriously injured.

He hoped that McKay was just scared and looking for encouragement to keep him going by exaggerating his injuries for sympathy.

Thompson had little choice though, so he said sternly, "You can still talk and move and breathe, McKay, so help me!"

McKay looked like he had been slapped and Thompson savagely thought he would have been justified to make the action literal had he been close enough to the panicked and whining chief scientist from Atlantis. He tried not to smile at how satisfying it would have felt after McKay's blatant disregard for the authority of Thompson's commanding officer earlier. He briefly wondered where Levitt was, but then focused on the task at hand.

Thompson's eyes streamed as he pulled the panel off the wall and heard ragged breathing in exertion from the other side of the room. He also found himself panting noisily as he inhaled what little air was left for them that had not already been consumed by the fire.

He sealed off the damaged conduit and the hissing of the fire stopped a few seconds later when there was a small click from where McKay was. The room was plunged into darkness as soon as the fire's fuel supply was sealed off.

* * *

"Report!" Caldwell asked into the dimly starlit bridge in front of him. He had hauled himself from unconsciousness and was pressing a bandage against the arm of Crewman Saunders as they both floated weightlessly in the room.

The silence and darkness on the bridge was unnerving as the usual hum and pulse of the engines was missing. It was almost as though the ship was cold and dead as its usual steady and ever present heartbeat had ceased.

He saw Major Marks approach his console and tap a few of the black controls. He shook his head, "I'm sorry, sir, there's no power. Whatever happened or hit us must've taken out the auxiliary backup power too."

Caldwell kept his voice even, "You're saying that we're dead in space?"

Marks looked away with a slightly ashamed expression, "Yes, sir. All the conduits run by engineering and if no-one there has been able to get the power back…"

Caldwell shook his head as Marks trailed off, "Do you know the status of the Wraith ships and the F302s?"

"Not without sensors. There's also a possibility we've been boarded as the shields are offline."

Caldwell nodded and then turned to the crewman in front of him. Bleary eyes shone back at him brightly as the sun drifted past the window and bathed them in its harsh rays for a moment before it was gone again as the rotation of the ship spun them around.

The crewman said, "You should go, sir. I'll stay on the radio if you need anything."

Caldwell pressed one of the portable radios he had retrieved from the emergency kit into the free hand of the crewman as his other hand replaced Caldwell's over the bandage.

Caldwell gave him a reassuring smile and then used his hands on the ceiling to move himself over to Marks. He clicked his own radio and lifted it up to his mouth, "Bridge to engineering. Levitt, please respond."

There was no reply. Marks frowned at him in concern and Caldwell suddenly had another idea, "Bridge to Zelenka and Edwards."

There was a brief pause and then; _"This is Captain Edwards. We didn't think anyone had survived that."_

Caldwell smiled grimly, "Report."

_"I'm still in the Jumper with Dr Zelenka. The inertial dampeners saved us from the worst of it. Several Wraith darts landed a few minutes ago. The bay only just repressurised before the explosion and several Wraith drones have headed out into the corridors. We were just gearing up to go after them, sir."_

Caldwell frowned, that meant that the darts had gained entry when the rail guns and F302s should have taken them out before they got that far.

"Negative. I need you to take the Jumper out and find out what's happened. Is the Wraith cruiser still intact or did the Asgard beam destroy it before the impact or explosion? What's the status of the Daedalus?"

Zelenka replied, _"There is no need, Colonel. We are able to get the readings from where we are."_

Caldwell held his breath as Zelenka continued, _"The Wraith ship is disabled, but not destroyed. I believe they will soon repair the damage in order to call for reinforcements if they have not done so already."_

Caldwell released his breath and asked, "And the F302s and my ship?"

"_The F302s are still in space trying to fight away the darts. The Asgard beam fired for a fraction of a second before it cut out. A huge explosion came from one of the emitters and travelled through the conduits."_ He stopped abruptly and sighed.

Caldwell waited patiently and then Edwards continued, _"We're only detecting around 150 life signs on the Daedalus, sir. Some of those will be the Wraith invaders. Many of the readings are weak and some are trapped in areas sealed off by emergency bulkheads to prevent the spread of the decompression."_

Caldwell steeled his nerves and locked away his emotions. It was more difficult than usual though, as the crew complement before the explosion had been 200.

* * *

TBC


	4. Triage

_**Chapter 4 – Triage**_

In the vast, empty coldness of space, two ships floated without power as the race continued over which would be the first to be repaired enough to destroy the other. The debris of their brief battle floated in the sun, where day never ended in the ceaseless light.

Dr Sarah Jenkins had calmly organised her medical team in the torch light of the metal bulkhead enclosed Daedalus infirmary. With no power, it was impossible for them to use all of their equipment. She had distributed people to where there had been radio calls for help and had assigned others to respond if more calls were received.

She was currently pushing herself off the walls as she floated along a corridor towards main engineering.

Her portable radio activated, _"Caldwell to all hands. Please be aware that there are Wraith intruders onboard. Arm yourselves and remember to keep calm. I'll be in engineering to see whether we can get some power back."_

Jenkins nodded to the marine accompanying her and her colleague, Dr Harwell. He took point as they continued along the corridor and dodged debris and shattered bulkheads as they slowly drifted their way towards the highest concentration of emergency calls.

They soon came across the first body.

It was a man motionlessly floating in the middle of the corridor. Dr Jenkins and her companions quickly approached and drew up masks and goggles when they saw a cloud of blood hanging in the air around the unfortunate crewman.

Jenkins checked for a pulse, but there was nothing. He had been dead for a while and the doctor, with the assistance of her colleague, rapidly sealed his body in a bag and tagged it for transport to the morgue when the transporter came back online. She frowned as she checked his injuries. He would have to wait until the rest of the crew had been triaged and the living were helped until a proper autopsy could be carried out, but a cursory examination revealed something disturbing.

Pulling off her gloves, she exchanged a glance with her colleague and was relieved to see the same concern in her eyes too.

The man's injuries were inconsistent with blunt trauma associated with the jolting impact from the explosion without any inertial dampeners. There were also no fire burns despite the black scorch marks along the nearby walls.

She said under her breath, "We need to speak with the Colonel."

The other woman nodded and then they continued on their way to engineering.

The marine ahead of them suddenly held up his hand and Jenkins and Harwell both grabbed the nearest jutting bulkhead to stop. He raised his gun and tensed up in the darkened passageway.

Suddenly he fired. The noise was deafening in the narrow corridor and Dr Jenkins flinched. The marine soon stopped shooting and called out, "Clear!"

They continued to float around obstacles, including several dead Wraith who had just been killed by the marine.

They came across more human bodies where the Wraith boarding party had fed on the unsuspecting and the injured. They soon ran out of bags and could only tag them before moving on.

Dr Jenkins could not help noticing the growing sounds of people in distress as they entered the final corridor on the way to engineering. The air was thick with smoke and the section was more damaged than anything she had seen so far.

The screaming and shouting got louder as she approached the engineering section. It may have scared lesser people than her, but she was not daunted at all and kept moving at the same speed in her urgency to reach the agonised noises and help those in desperate need.

There were still some signs of life where crewmen were trying to revive or aid those who had been injured. Jenkins helped where she could and prioritised the worst cases.

There were sporadic sounds of muffled gunfire as marines protected the engineering section from the boarding parties.

She reached the main engineering room after a scared looking man wearing a short sleeved shirt beckoned her over. He said, "Please, you have to help her!" Jenkins frowned when his voice broke at the end and she felt her brow creasing even further when he coughed wetly and winced.

He wrapped his arms around his chest and remained completely still as he floated in the corridor. Dr Jenkins had left her colleague behind with one of the more seriously injured and she said to the man, "I'm Dr Jenkins."

"Dr Rodney McKay," he said weakly.

"Who needs my help?"

The man pointed into the room behind him at a bulkhead which had collapsed down from the ceiling. He said, "She's under there."

Jenkins grabbed the ceiling when she nearly hit her head and pulled herself past him. She was surprised to see Colonel Caldwell in the room speaking with another man she recognised as Crewman Thompson. They both acknowledged her and then went back to speaking in a low whisper so that she could not hear any of their words.

McKay drifted with her and indicated the bottom of the metal support where it was buried in the deck. Jenkins narrowed her eyes and adjusted the medkit on her shoulder. She had seen many things in her life of military service and her day so far had already taxed her to the limit helping the injured and comforting the dying. She was still internally shocked at what she found, but was professional enough not to let any of her emotions show through and reach her surface.

McKay gestured down at the woman pinned under the support and he said sadly, "I tried… I used my jacket… but I couldn't…"

Jenkins used her hands on the beam and was careful to avoid the sharp edges of metal as she positioned herself by the woman. She was unrecognisable at first, but as Jenkins moved closer she finally saw who it was through the blood streaked face, "Chief Engineer Joanna Levitt."

She felt for a pulse, but was already fairly certain of the answer. When she felt nothing beneath her fingers she tied a marker tag around the exposed hand and shook her head as she turned back to McKay who was floating behind her.

"I'm sorry."

McKay tightened his arms around his midsection and gritted his teeth as his dirty face crumpled in misery. Jenkins approached him and eyed him critically for injuries as she tried to use his body language to gauge where he was hurt.

She said, "Let me see."

She worked quickly, knowing that as he was conscious so he was not as badly injured as some of the people who still needed her help. She patted his arms away gently as he tried to cover his chest and prevent her examination. She frowned in annoyance that he was not letting her help him, but then his frightened eyes caught sight of the metal bulkhead again and he completely relaxed as he hung his head down and released a shaky sigh.

Jenkins took the opportunity to place a small flashlight in between her teeth and lifted his shirt to check his ribs. She carefully palpated his chest and then could do no more at the moment than conduct a visual examination. He hissed and tried to roll away from her, but she was already finished by the time he released an indignant huff and tugged his shirt back down.

She retrieved a couple of tablets out of her bag and passed them to him with a bottle of water. He took them and shivered.

She said quietly, "No broken ribs, but there's some bruising to your chest and abdomen. Those are painkillers, but you'll need a proper examination and care once everyone else is safe."

He grimaced and curled one of hands around his side as he asked, "Haven't you got anything else?"

Jenkins frowned and said, "No, that's the best I can do at the moment. There are people in worse conditions than you, Dr McKay, and I have to move onto the more critically injured."

He pressed on, "Haven't you got any of the good drugs?"

Jenkins raised her eyebrows at him and knew he meant the morphine in her bag, but she was saving that for those most in need. He had the nerve to continue anyway, "IV lines? Oxygen masks?"

She said flatly, "No, I don't."

McKay's face fell and he mumbled under his breath, "Jennifer would always help me and give me the good stuff." He looked away and grimaced as he wrapped his arms around his ribcage protectively. "She'd never just leave me behind."

"This isn't Atlantis, Doctor, and I'm not Jennifer."

She wanted to yell at him and tell him to stop feeling sorry for himself, but her internal control prevented her. She made a mental note to have a word with Dr Keller on Atlantis after they returned. That was, if they ever returned…

Her eyes suddenly locked with Rodney's and she noticed tracks going through the dirt on his face where he had shed tears before she had got to him. She furrowed her brow when she saw them and continued, "You look quite lively to me, so excuse me for moving on. The first rule of triage is to make sure your patient will live and then move onto the next. Or to deal with the worst cases first, i.e. the silent ones. And you, Dr McKay, are far from silent!"

He nodded and looked down at the bulkhead again in misery. He said softly, "I tried to push her out of the way… I even covered her, but it wasn't enough. Something hit me and I was forced out of the way and she… she…" He winced and closed his eyes.

Crewman Thompson on the other side of the room suddenly said, "So you admit that you killed her?"

McKay's eyes snapped open and Jenkins took the opportunity to drift away from him towards the Colonel. He said, "Of course I didn't kill her!"

Thompson's eyes flashed dangerously, but he kept quiet.

Jenkins reached Caldwell and he said, "Report, Doctor."

She steeled herself and said, "We're conducting triage at the moment, sir; handing out painkillers and showing the more able crewmembers how to aid those who can still be helped. There are some sections still sealed behind bulkheads, but they've got radios and emergency medical supplies so we're giving them instructions."

Caldwell nodded, "Good work."

Jenkins sighed and continued, "I don't know, sir. We've lost a lot of people today. Many of them are so very young."

Caldwell floated with her out into the corridor away from McKay and Thompson and his eyes were as cold and unreadable as ever as he said, "I know, Doctor. Do the best you can."

She then remembered the body they had found in the corridor and glanced around to make sure no-one was listening, "We found a man in the corridor who didn't die in the explosion, sir."

Caldwell frowned and leant in closer as she continued, "He had been stabbed. It was very clear that his injuries weren't caused by damaged bulkheads, but by a physical attack from another person."

Caldwell uncurled his limbs as he floated and straightened out. He spoke with a quiet intensity, "Are you saying that we have a murderer on board?"

"I don't know, sir. We came across some Wraith too, but as far as we know they feed on people rather than just killing them."

Caldwell nodded, "Does anyone else know about this?"

"Only Dr Harwell who was with me at the time."

"Let's keep this between us for now. I'll keep an eye open if you could do the same. We're short staffed as it is, so let's not induce more panic by spreading any rumours."

Jenkins could understand his reasoning, but did not like the idea that there was a killer in their midst who may well kill again. Without any warning, the next victim would be powerless and oblivious to the attack. She just hoped that the high alert caused by the Wraith intruders would keep everyone on their toes to watch out for attacks from without _and_ within.

Dr Jenkins gave some painkillers to the Colonel when she noticed a bruise on the side of his face. She also passed him some extra ones for Crewman Thompson before they parted ways. He went back into engineering as she floated past the door to engineering and continued on her harrowing rounds.

* * *

McKay was no longer holding himself so tightly, but Thompson had at least had the empathy to wince when he had finally seen the extent of the bruising to McKay's body in the dim lighting.

The debris and smoke from the fire still hung in the air, choking everything and making breathing difficult and painful as there was nowhere to vent it after the fire.

Thompson beckoned Caldwell over as soon as he entered engineering again. McKay was still hovering by the bulkhead with his face screwed up in pain. Now that Thompson knew that he had been lying about his injuries, any sympathy he had briefly felt towards the man had all but evaporated. Caldwell handed him some pills and he dry swallowed them.

Thompson had hardly known some of the people who had died. They worked the opposite shift rotation to him and had only been in engineering due to all hands being on deck during the battle situation.

Thompson's own grief and rage over Chief Engineer Levitt's demise was lessened by the danger that they were all about to join her in death, as there was no power.

Thompson would not let himself become overwhelmed by grief and horror. The survival of those who were still alive was more important. There would be plenty of time to count the dead and mourn the loss later. His main concern was over those who were left and needed to carry on breathing.

He glanced across at McKay as he floated alone and rubbed his forehead, smearing the dirt around a little more. Thompson could see that McKay had now been reduced to just an ordinary man as he no longer had any technology to manipulate or any achievements to brag about or hide behind. He had lost all his control over what was going on and his faltering ego made him reveal his insecurities now that all the technology was offline. He had been thoroughly stripped down and laid bare. Thompson finally saw who McKay actually was and found that he had revealed himself as a nervous and cowardly man who had been easily damaged in a dire situation.

Thompson fingered the gun he had strapped to his leg from the emergency kit and held a torch in the other hand. His dislike and mistrust of McKay had meant that he had not given a weapon to the other man. McKay's revelation about what had happened in the last moments of Levitt's life caused hatred to bubble beneath his surface and push away his own sadness and fear.

It seemed that McKay had actually shoved her under the falling bulkhead and had deliberately let himself be injured so that he seemed innocent. Thompson knew better though.

McKay stayed still as he tried to manage his pain and allowed Thompson to have a quiet conversation with Caldwell.

"What's the situation, Doctor?"

"As you can see, sir, Chief Levitt didn't make it. The main power relay was just on fire, but we stopped it. I've got damage control teams going through the conduits trying to route power, but it's not good news, sir."

Caldwell glared at him and Thompson flinched back a little. The Colonel asked, "Can you give us anything at all? We need to eliminate the Wraith cruiser and get out of here before reinforcements arrive."

Thompson shook his head, "We're concentrating on the basics at the moment; life support and gravity. We should have them up and running in some sections within the hour. There's limited power left though and I'm still estimating the time we can keep them operational."

Caldwell glanced across at Rodney and said, "Get McKay to help you."

Thompson muttered under his breath, "I don't trust him, sir. Too much of the data and of what's happened points the finger of blame at him. I don't want him touching our ship until we've found out the cause of the malfunction to the plasma beam."

Caldwell's reaction was predictable, but no less shocking, "You're out of line, Doctor. He's the best scientist here and he can help us. I trust Colonel Sheppard therefore I trust McKay."

Thompson felt his anger brimming over again and asked, "Can trust really be transferred like that? Personally would you say you trust Dr McKay?"

Caldwell glared at him, "Are you questioning my judgement, Doctor?"

"Not at all. I just don't want anyone else to die and he doesn't know the ship like we do, sir. I'd rather he worked in a less critical section."

Caldwell glanced across at McKay, who was now watching them curiously as he continued to float limply. He turned back to Thompson and asked, "You're absolutely sure the weapons are not operational?"

Thompson sighed, "Yes, sir."

Caldwell nodded, "Alright. Do what you can for the life support and then work on the other systems."

"And McKay?"

Caldwell muttered, "I have a special mission for him."

Thompson turned with Caldwell to look across at the forlorn man watching them and felt relief that McKay was about to be taken off his hands.

* * *

TBC


	5. The Last Mission

_A/N – Sorry for the delay! Real life's been rather busy of late…_

**_Chapter 5 – The Last Mission_**

Rodney stayed as motionless as possible as he tried and deal with the terrifying images burned into his memory. Every time he closed his eyes he saw the last moments of Dr Levitt's life flashing before him. She had not even had a chance to scream as the bulkhead had crushed her into the deck.

Rodney's guilt from surviving, albeit with painful bruises, was overwhelming him to the point where he could hardly speak.

He had seen people die before, but witnessing the gory and horrific death of someone he had begun to like shook him to the core. His feelings were intensified by the fact that after the initial authority issues he found himself getting along quite well with the Daedalus' chief engineer. It had been a nice change from his usual interactions with other people, where he was mostly met with either indifference or annoyance.

The sounds and smells all around him did not help to lighten his mood. He had tried to help Levitt before he had put out the fire, but it was of no use.

He finally managed to shake himself out of his catatonic state of shock to hear the last part of Caldwell's conversation with Dr Thompson. McKay flinched when he saw a glint of triumph in Thompson's eyes. It was a change from the anger he had always seen whenever he had had the misfortune to glance at the other man, but somehow it was worse than anything so far.

He galvanised himself to find his voice again and frowned before he asked, "What mission?"

Caldwell narrowed his eyes and pulled a portable radio out of his pocket and clicked it a couple of times before speaking, "Major Feeney, Corporal Ingram and Captain Edwards, please escort Dr Zelenka to main engineering."

There was a pause before the answer came, _"This is Major Feeney. Sorry, sir, Ingram got picked off by the last Wraith squad we took down."_

Rodney's heart sank even further.

Caldwell clicked the radio again and carried on, "Major Feeney, I need three soldiers for an escort mission."

"_Yes, sir! We'll be there in a minute. We're holding off the intruders for now."_

Caldwell sighed, "Good to hear, Major."

He turned off the radio and indicated for Rodney to follow him out into the corridor. Thompson had already started organising the able-bodied crewmembers into repair teams via his own radio and the sound of his voice faded as they floated weightlessly along the corridor.

Rodney winced as he twisted his body and pulled himself along using his hand on the wall. His belly felt swollen with burst blood vessels and his ribs creaked where the falling bulkhead had struck him. His bruises throbbed painfully even as he held a hand against himself. He took comfort that at least one of the Daedalus doctors had cleared him, but it did not lessen the pain.

Caldwell stopped and turned to him, "Dr McKay, the special mission is to destroy the Wraith Cruiser."

"I thought we got it?"

"No, it's still out there and powering back up. We don't know how long it'll be until it can call for reinforcements and has the ability to destroy us."

Rodney glared back at him and said, "Well we haven't got any power, so there are no means for us to launch anything or fire the plasma beam…" His eyes widened as he realised and he squawked indignantly, "But that's a suicide mission! And I'm bleeding!"

He quickly regretted his words when he caught sight of some of the frightened faces peering back at them as the people along the corridor held bandages against themselves or others.

Caldwell raised his eyebrows and said firmly, "Not as badly as a lot of people, Doctor."

Rodney sighed, "You're still sending me on a one way trip. I think I'd be better suited co-ordinating the repair efforts over here." Rodney narrowed his eyes as another thought occurred to him, "Oh god! It's because I'm not a member of your crew isn't it?"

Caldwell's face remained neutral as he answered, "No. You have the most experience on Wraith ships, Dr McKay. You know where you're going and what to do."

"Which brings us back to it being a suicide mission."

Caldwell folded his arms over his chest while they continued to wait for the marine escort. "Not if you hurry. I'm going to give you one hour and if you're not out and back by then, we'll press the remote detonator and destroy the nuke. Dr Thompson assures me he can get power to the transmitter array to send out the necessary signal."

"_And pull the trigger,"_ McKay thought bitterly, but his mouth said, "One hour!? That's not enough time! One hour is enough time for a single episode of Star Trek or a, or a…" he waved his free hand about, "Overly long and indulgent lunch break! It's certainly not enough time for an incursion onto a Wraith cruiser with associated screaming and running around and then getting out again."

Caldwell shook his head in exasperation, "Make it enough time, Doctor. We're all counting on you. Any longer and the Wraith could find a way to deactivate the nuke if the mission is compromised."

Rodney huffed as he recognised Caldwell pandering to his well known, massive ego. It seemed to work though, as he felt his heart swelling in self-importance and pride even as a sensation of terror ran through him like an electric current. He also saw straight through Caldwell's careful wording, but he did not really have a choice, so he nodded, "Alright. I hope you've given me a decent squad."

Caldwell smiled, "Only the best of the best."

Rodney grimaced, but felt his wildly beating heart rise a little when he saw Radek flanked by marines as they came towards him along the corridor.

Caldwell left him and went back to main engineering after he had given them the lowdown on the mission. They all remained impassive as Caldwell spoke, but Rodney thought that even the most idiotic marine who had been raised on a backwater ranch would be able to figure out that they were probably not going to come back.

Radek was looking shocked, probably mainly over what he had seen in the corridors leading up to engineering and he drifted over to be next to Rodney. He said, "With no Asgard transporter…"

"I know." Rodney said dejectedly.

Major Feeney twitched and tightened the grip on his P90 as he said, "We need to hurry, Dr McKay. It's one hour from now."

Rodney quickly shook Radek's hand and mumbled, "So, I'll see you in an hour." Although he knew it was more than likely an empty promise.

Radek looked at him sadly and then went over to main engineering to offer his assistance to the repair crews.

* * *

Major Thomas Feeney took point as his team proceeded the last short distance to the hanger containing the Jumper.

There was a slight metallic clang behind him and he tensed his finger on the trigger of the gun, before returning to the same alert state as previously.

"It's a bomb! The next time you go bouncing it off the wall like that, we'll all end up being reduced to atoms as was intended. The Wraith will probably get a good laugh though."

Just behind Feeney, Corporal Mullen took the bait and mumbled, "You might find _yourself_ reduced to atoms soon without the need for a nuke…"

Feeney smiled briefly, but said, "That's enough soldier! Be more careful with the nuke."

"Yes, sir!" Mullen replied.

Feeney pushed his feet off the floor and continued to float along. The grumbling had stopped and all that could be heard were the sounds of hands and feet touching walls and the slight tinkling of unsecured items attached to tac vests.

As they approached the bay, Feeney angled his P90 up and suddenly saw a shadow passing across the large room beyond in the torchlight. He held up his fist to bring the rest of his squad to stop.

McKay asked, "What is it?"

Feeney heard a muffled noise behind him and hoped it was one of his men indicating for the scientist to keep quiet. He slowly pulled himself along to the door and positioned himself in a weightless crouch as he floated a short distance from the ground. He kept his arm by the wall so that he could push off at a moment's notice if cover was needed.

He disliked the weightless combat situation, but they had been trained for it due to the nature of their deployment and had already had plenty of experience in live combat that day.

Feeney saw the shadow again so he flicked off the light on his P90 and pulled on his night vision goggles.

He heard McKay whisper, "I can't see anything! I could get fed on by a Wraith and you'd never notice."

Feeney shushed him and stealthily pushed himself off to peer around the corner of the doorway and out into the bay. He saw the Jumper and several of the darts which had made a new home for themselves.

There was a lot of cover for both his team and the Wraith if there were any. The time they had left for their mission was running out fast, so Feeney indicated for his team to follow him as he broke cover and entered the bay. He saw that McKay had now been given some night vision goggles and was clutching his sidearm tightly.

McKay had been so grateful when Feeney had given him a gun and a tac vest earlier, that the Major had not known what to make of him. He still had not formed an opinion, as what he had seen and heard so far had not shown him the measure of the man yet. Feeney rarely judged people and even when he did; he would shelve his emotions and focus on the job.

He spotted two hostiles trying to gain access to the Jumper and swiftly took them down with his squad.

The team entered the Jumper and only just managed to get their feet under them as the artificial gravity suddenly gave them all their weight back.

McKay groaned as his knees bowed and muttered, "Can't we reduce the gravity a bit? This thing's really heavy."

Feeney turned and covered his team as they came onboard. With the help of Mullens and Edwards, McKay gritted his teeth wheeled the nuclear bomb into the rear compartment.

Edwards made his way to the pilot's seat and sealed the rear hatch. Feeney activated his radio as he sat down behind McKay in the cockpit, "Major Feeney to Colonel Caldwell."

"_This is Caldwell."_

"We're ready, sir."

Feeney heard some more chatter on the radio as the engineering team siphoned some of the precious remaining power to open the bay door.

Edwards flew the Jumper out of the hanger and they left the Daedalus drifting silently behind them. Feeney narrowed his eyes when he saw all the debris from the explosion and Edwards had to do some careful manoeuvring to get around it.

Captain Edwards announced, "Cloak is active. ETA five minutes."

Feeney sat back in his seat and took some deep breaths. He could see that McKay's hands were shaking as he tapped on the computer he had drawn out of the pocket on the back of his vest.

Feeney leant forwards and squeezed the scientist's shoulder reassuringly. "Keep it together, Doctor, and we'll all be back on the Daedalus in time for the power to be restored."

McKay paused briefly in his typing and released a long sigh. He then continued and Feeney was pleased to see his hands were now more stable as they expertly glided across the screen. Feeney watched over McKay's shoulder, as the scientist brought up schematic after schematic with such speed that the Major could not keep up with what each picture showed, before the next one appeared.

He sat back again and glanced at his watch. They only had forty minutes left to deploy the nuke and get away or they would be killed. Feeney was more concerned with making sure the bomb was placed and the cruiser would be destroyed. Getting away with their lives would just be an added bonus. He knew the cruiser was already badly damaged and just hoped that most of the Wraith had also been neutralised.

* * *

Captain Edwards landed the Jumper in the only portion of the Wraith cruiser's hanger that was still pressurised. McKay had indicated the landing platform which was close to a main corridor. McKay had found a weakness they could exploit that would lead to the obliteration of the cruiser if a nuclear bomb were to be detonated at that location.

Feeney was fairly certain that a nuke planted anywhere on the cruiser would destroy it, but he deferred to McKay's experience and hoped the man knew what he was doing. After all, they did not want any part of the Wraith ship to be left intact after their mission.

McKay immediately started grumbling as they landed, "This is a crazy idea! We're never going to survive more than a few seconds on a Wraith cruiser with a nuclear bomb in tow. The Wraith will be all over us the second we leave the Jumper!"

McKay's complaining was slowly beginning to wear down Major Feeney's resolve and he had only known the man for half an hour. He pushed his feelings aside as he said, "Stow it, McKay. Let's get this done and get out."

McKay thinned his lips as he glared back at Feeney, but he simply fingered his gun holster and then grimaced.

Feeney issued his orders, "McKay, you've got the nuke. Edwards keep an eye on the life signs detector and help McKay. Mullen, take point, I'll be on our six."

McKay had not been wrong about the Wraith defence of their ship and Feeney had to step up to the front as Edwards struggled to hold off the attackers.

McKay was firing a P90 he had clipped to his vest from the Jumper's weapon supply, but was only really providing covering fire for the others as he did not seem to be able to hit anything. Feeney was not surprised as the scientist hardly ever looked where he was aiming, but the distraction was assisting them to squeeze off more accurate shots to take down the Wraith.

Blue bolts flew past their hiding places and McKay pointed his finger at the nuke on the trolley and shouted, "Stunners won't do anything good if they hit it!"

Feeney glanced at him and saw the scientist's wide, panicked eyes as he gripped his P90 so tightly in his pale hands that his fingers went ghostly white.

The Major thought there was only one hiding Wraith now left and quickly picked the creature off with a burst of fire from his own P90. He looked at Captain Edwards, who checked the scanner and nodded, "Clear. There aren't many life signs left, sir."

Feeney saw McKay's tense shoulders slump a little as he relaxed, but then he suddenly hunched them again. His voice was broken by panic as he said, "We're got less than half an hour until we all get turned into those tiny pieces I mentioned earlier!"

The Major nodded and said, "Let's go. Pick up the pace, everyone!"

* * *

TBC


	6. Incursion

_**Chapter 6 – Incursion**_

Gravity on the Daedalus, along with minimal life support systems, had just been restored and a dull glow illuminated the corridors and rooms from the emergency lighting. The ship was still unable to go anywhere though, as there was not enough power left to reinitialise the engines.

The transmitter array had been repaired to the point where at the touch of a button the Daedalus could send out a short range signal. Only for a moment and just enough to activate the nuke, but it was all they could achieve during the hour where finding a way to carry on breathing was the main priority.

Thompson was standing in engineering and had been very surprised to hear that McKay had been brave enough and willing to go on a mission to destroy the Wraith ship. That, coupled with Zelenka's reaction to his boss' departure, was starting to make Thompson think that his analysis and perception of the other man had been incorrect all along.

Thompson had organised the repair crews with Zelenka's help, but Caldwell had assigned him a special task. His mission was to locate the cause of the malfunction and make sure they were not in any danger. The more he looked for something to implicate McKay, the more he found his beliefs and assumptions turned around, because he could not find any proof that McKay had been the one responsible.

All the evidence pointed away from where McKay had been in engineering to the actual device itself, which was installed close to the beam emitters in the forward section of the Daedalus. Thompson himself could provide an alibi for McKay, as he had been near him the whole time.

The video feeds and sensor logs were either inaccessible or too badly damaged for him to find any conclusive evidence as to exactly who had carried out the sabotage, if that was what it was. Thompson also had a growing belief that it may just have been an accident, but that would mean that someone on the crew had been careless and if it was not McKay then there were only a handful of other people who had access to the systems.

Suddenly his radio activated, _"Caldwell to engineering."_

"Thompson."

"_It's been over an hour, are you ready?"_

Thompson frowned, "Are they back yet?"

_"No. Send the signal to detonate the nuclear bomb, Doctor."_

Thompson clicked a few controls and activated the radio transmitter array. His hand hovered over the execute key as he hesitated. His mind was suddenly thrown into a turmoil that he had not seen coming.

If he had not already been killed by the Wraith, Dr Rodney McKay was about to die and it was to save the people left on the Daedalus, including Thompson. Although Thompson was deeply envious of McKay's achievements and successes despite his clear personality disorder, he did not think the other man deserved death.

In the short time Thompson had known him, beyond what he had read in the reports, he had seen the mistrust and scornful comments first hand. They had been coupled with grating insults and comments brandished about the inferiority of everyone around him to his obvious and smug excellence.

But Thompson remembered what he had seen just before he was knocked out and was sure that he had seen McKay trying to push Levitt out of the way of the falling bulkhead. He was angry that she was dead, but realised that he was trying to displace his own feelings by looking for someone to blame and McKay had been an easy target when all that he did was try and save her. McKay had then proceeded to help put out the fire, even with the pain of the terrible dark bruises Thompson had seen.

Caldwell interrupted him, _"Doctor? I can still see a Wraith cruiser out of the window."_

Thompson did not want to be the one responsible for killing McKay. He knew the man was popular, despite his own personal misgivings. He was also the one who had stood up against the Wraith time and time again and always saved the day at the last minute, according to the reports.

He did not have any desire to kill his own crewmembers either. He knew that being in the military meant that he could be called upon to kill humans, but not allies and especially not one as important as McKay.

Thompson gritted his teeth, "I'm sorry, sir! I can't do it! They could still be alive."

_"And the Wraith could be on the way right now. Press that trigger, Doctor, that's an order."_

Thompson closed his eyes and moved his hand down to touch the button. He slowly increased the pressure until the button depressed.

In the vacuum of space, there was no sound, but the detonation washed away the blackness of space in a brilliant orange light, which blossomed briefly before it died.

* * *

Rodney watched in horror as Edwards and Mullen were grabbed by the Wraith and dragged away after being stunned. He was left with Major Feeney and they valiantly continued to fight off the waves of drones attacking them where they had been ambushed on the way back to the Jumper.

Rodney pressed his back against a nearby wall and pulled out his life sign detector. He saw that there were readings approaching them and whispered to Feeney, "Five more."

The Major nodded as he stood in front of McKay and covered him. He replied, "Whatever it takes, you need to destroy this ship."

Before Rodney could ask what he meant, the Wraith found them. Feeney took down three, but then a lucky stunner shot caught him in the face and he crumpled onto the floor, leaving McKay alone.

Rodney felt a sudden fury engulfing him which thoroughly drowned out his fear. He dropped and rolled out of the way as a bolt of energy flew towards him. He hissed in pain and annoyance as he landed on his bruises and stopped moving so that he was lying on his back. He angled his P90 up and took down the confused Wraith before they could adjust to his new position.

Rodney panted in exertion as his heart pounded rapidly in his chest. The bomb was already planted and the Jumper was only a few minutes away. He glanced at his watch and forced himself to stand. His eyes widened when he noticed they were already overdue and he tensed up in expectation of the fire from the nuke which would soon extinguish his life.

He reached up to tap his radio in order to try and contact the Daedalus to call off the detonation for a few more minutes, but to his increasing panic, he had lost his headset. He tried clicking on the main radio in his tac vest, but it just whined static back at him.

Rodney looked at Major Feeney on the floor and quickly made his decision. He said, "We're both dead anyway. I have to at least try."

He considered trying a fireman's lift, but he did not think his shoulder and ribcage would be able to cope with the pressure nor did he trust that his legs would not give out. Instead, he gritted his teeth and grabbed the handle on the back of Feeney's tac vest. He then began the laborious task of dragging who knew how many kilos of heavy and valuable military hardware towards the only way off the doomed cruiser.

His eyes watered when his back wrenched and his bruises throbbed and screamed for him to stop the torture, but still Rodney held on tightly and increased his speed.

The tears soon turned to frustration and hopelessness as Rodney maintained the arduous pace and his pain intensified. He muttered in a broken voice, "I thought all that time running around and in the gym was supposed to make you _lose_ weight."

He paused for a moment and straightened his back with an unpleasant crunching sound. He winced and flexed the hand he had been using and then turned and fisted the handle on Feeney's vest once again. He mumbled, "Not much further, McKay… This guy better be grateful that I broke my back for him."

It seemed that the Wraith were more concerned with the bomb which had been left behind to come after what was left of the retreating boarding party and left McKay and Feeney alone.

Rodney wished the Wraith ship had also lost gravity as he furrowed his brow. He suddenly gasped as he felt a twinge in his side and had to stop again. He unzipped his tac vest to give himself room to breathe more easily and held his side firmly as he pulled the dead weight of Major Feeney along the floor in a half shuffle as his feet faltered.

"Just a few more steps and we won't end up as more names in the big book of personnel killed in service. Hmm, I don't think Sheppard will be pleased if your crew return an empty coffin to him. Not when he trusted that you were going to look after me." His breaths came in short gasps as he stumbled and used all his remaining strength to try and save one of his new team mates.

"Come on! I'm not made for this. It should be you dragging my unconscious weight back to the Jumper! That's what all those muscles are for! Mine are more for carrying computers and installing ZedPMs."

Even if he were to die, Rodney knew that he would rather not return to the Daedalus alone or they would think that he left the people he hardly knew behind to save himself.

Rodney closed his eyes briefly and huffed out a breath before he continued. He still had such a long way to go to get back to the Jumper and the distance seemed to increase in his mind as the burning pain from his body did not let up. He also knew that his time had already run out.

* * *

Zelenka listened to the radio communications in shock.

"_It's done,"_ Thompson said sadly.

Caldwell replied, _"That it is, Doctor. The threat has been neutralised. Continue working on the engines."_

Radek was unsure whether to feel anger over the betrayal or sadness that not only his colleague and boss, but also a man who was his friend, had just died. They had an agreement that if Rodney were killed, then Radek would take his place as chief scientist on Atlantis and in Sheppard's team.

He knew that he could never replace McKay and had not really thought that the situation would ever come to pass; where he would be forced to step into Rodney McKay's shoes and take over for him. He found himself a little overwhelmed that McKay was dead and that which he had always secretly dreaded was now becoming reality.

He felt like a failure as he had been unable to save Rodney. He knew he had let his friend down in his last precious minutes by not finding a way to send power to the weapons. He had not even offered to take Rodney's place on the mission, even though he knew he would have been able to do the job just as well as McKay.

Instead, he had worked on the environmental systems until they were operational, even though he selfishly wanted to check whether the Asgard transporters were salvageable. He had focused all of his attention on the people left who could still be helped and put Rodney's fate to the back of his mind until the time came.

To take himself away from his sad thoughts, he glanced down at the cut and frayed wires he had found in the corridor and frowned. According to the schematic on his computer, they led from engineering to the new device installed which regulated the Asgard plasma beam and should have made it safe for the power increase.

He furrowed his brow and tried to quash his emotions. He knew that he had located something disturbing and that more was apparently going on than anyone on the Daedalus had realised.

* * *

Rodney resisted the urge to collapse and curl up as he finally hauled Major Feeney into the rear compartment of the Jumper. He let go of the tac vest strap, but found his hand was so bloody and bruised it made him wince when he tried to flex it. Instead, he held his damaged appendage against his chest and wished for the healing ointment they had used on him after he had come back from the mining planet with Jennifer and Sam.

He silently cursed himself for using his dominant right hand for the task, which was now completely useless, as he could not bend his fingers without agony.

He used his left hand to check Feeney's pulse, hoping that he had not been dragging a corpse all this distance. He sighed in relief when he found one and then quickly made his way into the cockpit and slumped down into the pilot's seat.

He cloaked the Jumper as he did not feel up to a dogfight in his current condition and guided it from the hanger and back towards the Daedalus.

The moment he was free from the cruiser, he felt himself relax that he had made it out alive. The adrenaline which had been pumping through him started to dissipate and his hands shook as he manipulated the controls.

Suddenly the Wraith ship exploded behind the Jumper and Rodney only had a moment to switch the cloak to the shield before the shockwave hit the tiny ship and sent it spinning. Rodney praised the Ancients for installing the neural interface as it reacted to his thoughts. He knew his trembling and damaged hands would not have reached the controls in time to save him.

The sky lit up briefly and Rodney saw the outline of the Daedalus as the glow illuminated the dull grey metal briefly. Rodney corrected the course of the ship and saw that the shield had been depleted to almost nothing by the explosion, but had stayed active and protected the ship from damage.

He tried to raise the Daedalus on the radio again, but there was still nothing. He mumbled grimly, "Only activated the transmitter to detonate the nuke, hmm? Well at least they're being conservative with the power."

Rodney guided the Jumper into the still open bay and brought it into land.

The moment the ship touched down, he gave up on his pretence of strength and allowed his body to take control of him as he slumped down onto the console.

He clicked the Jumper's radio and was only able to speak quietly in his sudden weakness, "McKay to Daedalus? We're back." He coughed and winced, "Um, glad you waited for us…"

Gravity drew him down further and he fell from the seat onto the deck with a grunt. He closed his eyes and let the exhaustion and pain carry him away on its all numbing wings.

* * *

TBC


	7. Attacks and Tricks

**_Chapter 7 – Attacks and Tricks_**

Dr Sarah Jenkins took Colonel Caldwell away from the people on the bridge so that she could speak with him in private. She had watched in awe as the Wraith cruiser had just been obliterated a few seconds ago. She was usually trapped in the infirmary during battles as she dealt with the aftermath of the attacks and had not yet witnessed the destruction with her own eyes.

She glanced around to make sure they were out of earshot and said quietly, "We've found two more people not killed by the explosion."

Caldwell nodded grimly, "How?"

"One was stabbed, the other was shot."

Dr Jenkins was deeply frustrated and angry that people continued to die unnecessarily on her watch. She said calmly, "The attacks were frenzied from what I can tell. The victims would probably not have stood a chance as the attacker is a member of the crew and they wouldn't have been suspicious or on guard around them."

"Are you suggesting that someone on my ship has gone mad?"

Jenkins waited for a moment as a technician walked past them before she continued, "That's not within my expertise to comment upon, sir. Our psychiatrist was killed in the explosion. Off the record though, I'll say that the attacks appear to be random, two men and a woman, a long way apart. I can imagine that being trapped on this ship for months on end, coupled with the Wraith attack and possibility of imminent death may have pushed someone over the edge."

Caldwell frowned while he considered the options. He said, "There are fifty people trapped outside this section, sealed behind the emergency bulkheads protecting us from space."

"Forty eight, sir." Jenkins corrected.

Caldwell grimaced, "And 83 left in this area."

Jenkins nodded, "I know, sir. That's a lot of suspects." Jenkins had not told anyone else about the murders and thought the only option was to hope that someone was being vigilant when the next attack occurred and could somehow overpower the assailant to end their rampage.

Caldwell narrowed his eyes and said, "I still want us to keep this between ourselves. Now that we have minimal power back, maybe they won't attack again. I'm going to ask if we can get some video feeds up and running so that at least we have evidence if it happens again."

Jenkins did not like his plan, but could see that he did not really have any choice. He could not make an announcement to the ship to keep an eye out for a murderer as that would tip off whoever it was that they were onto them.

She was about to voice her objection when their radios activated.

"_McKay to Daedalus? We're back."_ There was a quiet cough and the weak voice continued in misery, _"Um, glad you waited for us…"_

Caldwell's eyebrows went up so high in disbelief that Jenkins would have laughed if it were not for the seriousness of the situation. He nodded at Jenkins, "You'd better get down there."

As she walked away, she heard him speaking into his radio, "Engineering, seal and repressurise the F302 bay."

* * *

Rodney winced and groaned as he started to wake up. Jenkins had only just reached him after checking Major Feeney. She had not found any external injuries on the Major and his pulse and breathing were steady and strong, so she moved onto the other man lying unconscious on the deck in the cockpit. Jenkins had been surprised at the Colonel for sending the already injured civilian on such a mission when he had seemed so much softer than the military people she was used to dealing with.

She was curious as to what had happened to the rest of the team and how McKay had flown the Jumper back in time, but pushed her questions aside. Again, she found no serious external bleeding or broken bones and McKay's eyes were reactive to her flashlight even though he squirmed in his semi-conscious state as she shone the light into his eyes.

She found no evidence that the internal bleeding from his previous bruises had spread. She pulled a bandage out of her medkit and cleaned and wrapped his bleeding hand carefully as he returned to awareness very slowly.

She asked out of curiosity and to keep her patient alert, "What happened on the cruiser, Doctor?"

McKay wrinkled his nose and narrowly opened his eyes to look up at her. "The others were taken. Only just got away…"

Jenkins frowned that he was not asking for painkillers this time despite the clear signs on his face that he was hurting. She asked, "What happened to you and the Major?"

McKay closed his eyes again, "Major Lard over there was zapped in the head by a stunner. Very unpleasant… happened to me once…"

He seemed to be drifting off again, so Jenkins said indignantly, "His name is Major Feeney. How did you…?" She trailed off as she finished tying the bandage around his hand and wrist and put the two together.

"You dragged him back to the Jumper?" She asked incredulously.

McKay opened his eyes and smiled sadly, "Sure. He needs to stop eating so much though, I think I slipped a disc in my back."

Jenkins frowned and conducted some more tests. At the end she said, "Self diagnoses aside, I can find no evidence of a slipped disc. If we weren't stranded in the middle of this system with barely enough power to keep breathing, I'd scan you. As it is, I have many other patients to attend."

She glanced over at Major Feeney and continued, "Neither of you are in any danger. I'm giving you some stronger painkillers and I want you to rest while you stay here with the Major until he wakes up."

McKay looked at her as though he had been betrayed, but he was different from before as he just nodded silently and accepted the pills from her before she left.

She tapped her radio on the way out of the bay, "Jenkins to Caldwell."

"_Go ahead."_

"Only Dr McKay and Major Feeney returned. The others were taken by the Wraith."

"_Are they injured?"_

Jenkins approached main engineering to help the people still in the corridors as the fallen bulkheads prevented the movement of gurneys through the corridors. The infirmary was full of the most seriously injured people.

"The Major was stunned and Dr McKay has some muscle strains and general exhaustion. I've told him to wait in the Jumper until Major Feeney regains consciousness."

"_Acknowledged."_

Jenkins quickly checked the wounded and changed bandages where necessary. She then headed back to the infirmary.

* * *

Rodney moved himself along the deck of the Jumper using his hand and legs to avoid having to stand up. He sat next to Feeney and poked the other man in the arm. The Major shifted slightly and opened his eyes. He tried to speak but his mouth opened slackly and no sound came out.

Rodney nodded in understanding, "You'll be able to speak in a few minutes and thank me for pulling you to the Jumper and then flying you back to safety. You can then profusely apologise for the more than likely permanent damage you caused my back and hand." Rodney waved his bandaged hand in front of the Major's eyes so closely that he struggled to stop his eyes from crossing.

"_Zelenka to McKay."_

Rodney flinched as the loud voice made him jump. He crawled back into the cockpit and sat back on his knees to tap the comm, "This better be good. I'm babysitting at the moment and I can't walk."

"_I am glad to hear you are okay, Rodney,"_ he said sincerely.

"Hmm."

"_I need your help in the main junction room. I have found something and a second opinion would be preferable before I approach the Colonel."_

Rodney frowned and turned back to the Major to find that he was standing up and flexing his limbs as he tested them out. He raised his eyebrows and looked at the control console again, "Alright. I can be there in few minutes. Seems that marines are faster to recover than I thought, even really heavy ones."

Feeney had his hands on his face and tried to speak again. An incoherent mumble came from his mouth and Rodney rolled his eyes, "As you may have heard, the stunner didn't really change him that much."

Feeney stumbled over to him and lifted his jaw up and down a few times before he said, "You should… go. I'm… f-fine."

He patted Rodney on the back so hard that he nearly faceplanted on the console in front of him under the force of the blow. He grimaced and accepted the proffered hand to help him stand up. The Major smiled at him, but his lips twisted where he could not retain the expression for long with his numbed muscles. He said, "Thank you… Dr… McKay."

Rodney nodded and limped as he walked away. He checked his gun holster and made sure he was armed with plenty of ammo in case the Wraith were still stalking the corridors or lying in wait. He pocketed a portable radio and a power bar from his discarded tac vest and munched on the latter as he headed out.

The Major followed him for a few seconds and he heard the unsteady lurch and shuffle of the footsteps behind him mingled with his own ungainly limping as his back pulled and throbbed. The Major then turned off and headed over to engineering.

"Probably to see if he can hold something up or pass tools to one of the people actually doing some work around here," Rodney thought bitterly as he paused and inhaled some deep breaths to try and lessen the pain.

He was glad that the gravity was back online as it would make working easier, but not for his bruises as the pull of the deck plating meant that he had to walk rather than float. He knew it would have been better not to have an atmosphere of pressure weighing him down.

He gritted his teeth and in a few minutes he was close to the doorway leading into the main junction room. He frowned when he heard raised voices as he got closer and strained his ears to hear.

He recognised Radek's voice, "What are you doing?"

Then a crazed man replied, "We're all going to die out here! Can't you see that?"

"Not if you let me look at the circuits behind you. We are still alive."

The other voice rose to a panicked shout, "You're lying! We're already dead!"

Rodney felt his heart rate soar and a cold sweat covered his skin as the voice sent terror through him. His fear increased when he heard the unmistakable sound of a gun being fired. He was too close to the door to get away when a hooded figure came rushing out of the room and saw him.

Rodney fumbled with the gun and cursed his bandaged hand as he did not have the dexterity to retrieve the weapon. While he was struggling the figure whacked him in the face with something incredibly hard and sent him stumbling over into the wall.

His attacker then came over to him and grabbed the front of his shirt. Rodney was too stunned to prevent the movement as he was pushed backwards into the room.

Rodney managed to get some of his wits back about him and saw the gun in the man's hand as he lowered it down. Rodney grabbed the wrist holding the gun in both hands even though the pain which ran up his arm made him release a small sound in desperation.

The assailant's face was hidden in shadow under the hood and he did not put up much of a fight. Rodney was surprised when the gun was released and ended up in his hand so easily. He was unable to take aim before the attacker brought back his fist and buried it into Rodney's already bruised stomach.

Rodney cried out as he fell backwards and landed on the floor in a crash. He rolled onto his side and clutched his midsection as he heard the attacker fleeing the scene.

The pain blinded him for a few minutes so that he could not reach his radio to call for help. When he was able to focus again, he glanced across the room and saw Radek lying on the floor a short distance away. The sound of his heartbeat and the blood rushing past his ears lessened until he was able to hear an unnerving hissing sound.

He looked down and saw that he was still holding the gun and blood was seeping through the bandage around his trembling hand.

A voice suddenly commanded, "Don't move!"

Rodney froze and blinked slowly as he looked up and saw the barrel of a gun pointed at him. Beyond the gun he could see the face of the engineer he had been working with earlier. It was Dr Thompson.

* * *

TBC...


	8. Accusations

_A/N - Thank you for all your kind comments! I'm so glad you're enjoying it!_

_**Chapter 8 – Accusations**_

Thompson had been monitoring the radio chatter as part of his surreptitious investigation into the cause of the Asgard plasma beam malfunction. He heard that McKay was back and listened as Zelenka called him to the main junction room to show him something. It had sounded important, so Thompson pocketed his radio and headed out.

The corridor was silent as he approached his destination a few minutes later. As he went through the doorway, the first thing he saw was Zelenka and McKay on the floor. Zelenka was unconscious and the dim lighting revealed a dark shiny patch on his right shoulder.

McKay was holding a gun in his bandaged hand and there was a nasty cut on the side of his face, which oozed blood as he winced in pain.

Thompson knew he was missing something here, but the pieces of the puzzle were not forthcoming and all that he could base his judgement on were the two men lying on the deck. He could see that Zelenka had been shot and McKay was the one holding the weapon.

He unholstered and angled his gun at McKay as he was the only one armed and said, "Don't move."

He was taken aback by the look in McKay's eyes as he peered up at him, but quickly steeled himself and commanded, "Drop the gun."

McKay looked down at the weapon in his hand as he held it against himself and then slowly flopped his arm down by his side. Thompson walked over and kept his sidearm trained on the man as he kicked the offending article out of McKay's hand. Rodney drew in a sharp breath and closed his eyes briefly before they snapped open again.

"Radek…" he said in a harsh whisper. "I have to help him…"

Seeing that the danger had passed for the moment, Thompson fisted his radio and clicked it on, "Security and medical teams to the main junction room."

McKay was trying to roll over in order to crawl and help Zelenka, which confused Thompson even more. Why would he try to help a man he had just shot?

"Stay down!" Thompson warned as he went over to Zelenka and pulled off his own jacket. He pressed the material against the wound on Radek's shoulder.

McKay said weakly, "There's a hull breach. We have to get out of here."

Thompson frowned and strained his ears. He eventually heard a constant hissing sound which he had missed at first in his concentration to secure the room.

McKay rolled over onto his side and exhaled a shaky breath. He did not seem to have the strength to stand, so he just shifted onto all fours and crawled along and over to Thompson with Radek.

He said, "I didn't do it."

Thompson was torn as to whether to believe him or not. The evidence pointed to him doing it, but it made no sense. Why would he shoot a man he got along with so well?

Thompson had disarmed him and was the one still holding the weapon so he said, "I'll help Dr Zelenka. You need to find the breach and seal it before this entire section becomes depressurised. The bulkheads don't have enough power to close."

McKay held a hand against his middle as he sat back. He then dabbed his face experimentally and cringed as he smeared some of the blood on his cheek around with his hand. The area around the gash was swollen and bruised. He tried unsuccessfully to stand but fell down again with a hiss and held himself more firmly.

Thompson frowned as his doubt turned to concern for a moment and asked, "What happened here, McKay?"

Rodney shifted himself closer, but Thompson would not let him take over Zelenka's first aid as he had no idea of the other man's intentions. If he wanted to kill Radek, then he would be giving him the best opportunity.

"Zelenka was attacked. I was caught in the corridor when I got too close. Got punched in the face and gut for my troubles." He curled his hand against his belly and mumbled miserably, "I think I'm bleeding out." His eyes snapped up and he stared wide-eyed at Thompson, "Do I look pale to you?"

Thompson frowned and was about to ask him to elaborate about the sequence of events, but he felt hands on his shoulders pulling him away from the fallen scientist. Bandages soon replaced his jacket over Radek's shoulder and he was shoved even further back.

Major Feeney was leading the security team. He cocked his head to the side and frowned as he surveyed the scene. He asked, "What's that noise?"

Thompson mentally cursed himself and glanced around the room, trying to find the source of the hissing sound. Above the noise of the medical team he could not localise it.

He turned around and called out, "I need this area cleared, now! There's a hull breach."

Major Feeney's eyes widened, but the medical team already had Zelenka on a field stretcher with IV bags held high as they rushed him away to the infirmary.

McKay had been given an ice pack and was holding it against his face with an expression of sadness. He was gazing down at the floor where he had remained seated and his brow furrowed as he grimaced. He flinched when Major Feeney crouched down and rested a hand on his back.

The Major said something that Thompson did not hear and McKay nodded just before Feeney pulled him upright.

As Feeney drew McKay's arm over his shoulder, Thompson said, "He was holding the gun when I got here! You should take him to the brig!"

McKay's face paled even more and he lowered his hand away from where he was clutching the ice pack. Feeney seemed to have already been manipulated and swayed by the scientist though as he said offhand, "Oh, don't worry. I'll keep an eye on him, Doctor. You just block that breach."

Thompson frowned and felt the same anger as before seething inside him. He used his fury to give him energy as he ran back to engineering. He had to dodge and weave around lots of twisted metal and debris in the corridors like running an assault course.

He quickly located the affected section and transferred power to the doors. He sighed in relief as the systems confirmed a viable airtight environment once more, but they had just lost access to something valuable in the hunt for the cause of the malfunction. Thompson knew of only two people who had spoken of the importance of the room.

* * *

Caldwell folded his arms over his chest as he stood in the infirmary. Major Feeney was standing guard next to Dr McKay, whether for support or to make sure the scientist did not try anything, Caldwell was unsure. Dr Thompson had joined them a moment ago. He was glaring unblinkingly at McKay as he regarded the scientist from Atlantis in contempt and kept his distance.

McKay was sitting on the floor and was clearly still in a lot of pain where he had been hurt. Unfortunately for him, the infirmary staff had many other people to attend to, including Dr Zelenka, who was currently in a sealed off area undergoing surgery to repair the damage the bullet had caused to his shoulder.

Caldwell nodded as many pairs of fearful eyes from the conscious inhabitants of the infirmary looked back at him. Men and women were on the beds and lying on the floor around the room as doctors checked and reassured them. It was a harrowing sight and the room was thick with the sounds and smells of suffering.

Caldwell said quietly, "Shall we move this into the corridor, gentlemen?"

Major Feeney helped McKay to stand, but Rodney shrugged off the support and clamped an arm down on his stomach. He was holding a mostly melted ice pack on his face over a hastily applied dressing and slowly shuffled after the others as they stepped out of the room. Feeney stayed next to him and was ready if he fell.

Caldwell held up his hand when Thompson opened his mouth to speak. He turned to McKay and said, "I have another special mission for you, Doctor."

Rodney winced and said shakily, "It better not be as '_special'_ as the last one. We barely made it back alive."

"No, I think you'll prefer this one." McKay looked confused as Caldwell continued, "I want you to take the Jumper, along with as many people as you can, and fly it to the gate."

Caldwell had already heard Thompson's story and this way he could get rid of two problems with one solution. It was because he could no longer guarantee McKay's safety. He could usually vouch for his crew but there were just simply too many of them if one had been driven to insanity. If McKay truly was the murderer, which Caldwell found hard to believe, then that would solve another problem too.

McKay was a very clever man though, so there was very rarely any way to successfully fool him. As usual, he saw through the plan straight away, "Oh, this is because you think I shot Radek isn't it? Why would I do a thing like that?"

Caldwell raised his eyebrows, "Perhaps _you_ can tell _me_."

Rodney huffed and his brow creased in anger, "I saved him! He would've been shot again if I hadn't intervened."

"So, if you didn't shoot him, who did?" Caldwell asked evenly.

"It's your crew! I don't know anyone here."

"Alright then, what did they look like?"

"I don't know! I was more concerned with the gun pointing at me." His voice broke at the end and he winced as he closed his eyes tightly.

Thompson frowned and asked, "The gun in your hand when I found you?"

McKay narrowed his eyes at the man, "I know that it looks bad, but I assure you, I didn't shoot him."

"I have to agree," Caldwell said quietly.

"What!? After what I told you I saw? The gun was in his hand, sir. It was still warm when I kicked it away."

Rodney looked across at him and pointed down to his thigh holster, "Then how do you explain that, Sherlock?"

Caldwell watched as Thompson's words failed him after he saw the sidearm still sitting snugly in McKay's holster. He waved his hand in frustration, "But the gun… in your hand…"

Caldwell narrowed his eyes at McKay, "Was not yours, am I correct?"

McKay nodded.

Caldwell turned to Thompson and weighed up his options. He needed his ship back in a condition where they could survive until help arrived. If Thompson could not be swayed, then he would have to order McKay to go back to Atlantis and potentially forfeit many lives. He really needed McKay's expertise to stretch out the remaining power as long as they could, but that could not be done if his most senior engineer was at odds with the man.

He made his choice, "There is someone onboard who has been randomly attacking people…"

"What?!" McKay squeaked.

"Therefore it can't have been Dr McKay who shot Dr Zelenka, as some of the attacks occurred while he was off the ship."

"He could be working with someone else," Thompson said.

McKay scowled at him, but his face quickly relaxed when he only caused himself more pain as the cut pulled. He said indignantly, "Who exactly do you think I know on board this wonderful ship of yours? Why do you think I'd ever need help with anything?"

Caldwell ignored him and continued, "How do you explain how Dr McKay was also injured in the attack?"

Thompson's mouth opened, but he swiftly closed it and his eyes turned down as he mulled over the evidence. His head snapped up after a few seconds and he conceded, "Alright. When you put it like that, it seems unlikely."

McKay tried unsuccessfully to fold his arms and Feeney had to hold his shoulders as he swayed.

Caldwell looked between Thompson and McKay and said, "I need you to work together to hold my ship together for the next ten hours while we wait for the rescue parties. Can you do that?"

Thompson turned to McKay and regarded the other man intensely for a moment. McKay glared right back, but Thompson slowly nodded without taking his eyes off McKay. "Yes, sir."

Caldwell smiled tightly and then turned to Feeney, "Major, I want a round the clock guard posted outside engineering and people to move in groups of at least three throughout the ship. No-one should be left alone or as a pair until we know who's behind this."

Feeney straightened up and replied, "Yes, sir."

Caldwell watched them retreating down the corridor and keeping pace with McKay who was moving very slowly. He grabbed his radio and commanded a team to take the Jumper to the gate and call Atlantis for assistance. He made sure they checked in with Thompson and McKay before they left to get a list of the parts which were most urgently required to get his ship moving again.

He sighed and prayed that ten long hours would pass quickly and that there would be no more attacks or deaths in that time.

* * *

TBC


	9. The Second Impression

_**Chapter 9 – The Second Impression**_

Caldwell came back down to engineering a few hours later. He nodded to the guard on the door and then strode inside. He had spent the time checking on his crew; issuing orders where necessary and offering reassurance at other times.

Dr Zelenka was out of surgery and recovering in the infirmary. There had been no more murders, but he was not convinced that the murderer would give up. The person needed to be caught before they killed anyone else.

He saw that McKay was pale and a sheen of sweat covered his face. He was typing as he leant over a console. Thompson stood on the other side of the room next to a bunch of wires hanging out of the wall. He was threading them back inside and tapping on a tablet in between to check the interface.

Caldwell turned to Thompson and said, "Report."

McKay straightened up with a wince and ground out, "Do you want the bad news or the _really_ bad news?"

Thompson scowled at him and Caldwell said evenly, "I was more in a mood for good news, Doctor."

McKay looked down at the console with a blank expression so Thompson filled in for him, "As McKay said, sir, it's not good. We only have enough power for environmental systems for the next two and a half hours."

Thompson glanced across at McKay, but he remained silent as he wrapped one arm around himself and his eyes glazed over. Caldwell narrowed his eyes briefly and then addressed Thompson again, "That's not good enough, Doctor. It's going to be at least three hours until the rescue crews arrive."

Thompson pursed his lips. "I did have an idea about that, sir." He looked over at McKay nervously before he continued, but there was no reply. He said, "We use the F302s to grapple the Daedalus and tow it nearer to the gate."

Caldwell raised his eyebrows and McKay suddenly found his voice again. He sighed and said, "That won't work. I already told you. There's a risk it would compromise the structural integrity and pull the ship apart even more."

Rodney grimaced and Caldwell frowned at McKay's pale complexion and the bandage still covering his bruised and cut face.

McKay continued, "I don't think we really want to get caught out messing around with F302s when the Wraith show up again?" He looked down at the console again in distraction as his voice trailed off at the end.

Caldwell said quietly, "I agree with Dr McKay on this one."

Thompson curled his lip up, but remained silent. Caldwell said, "We're in no shape at all for another Wraith attack. I need you to stretch out what little power we have to survive, gentlemen."

McKay narrowed his eyes as he continued to stare at the console. He said slowly, "We need to move everyone together to conserve the power and reduce the temperature as much as we can stand to drain less."

He slowly walked over to the dimly illuminated map of the Daedalus on the wall. He reached up and hissed in pain as he pointed at engineering and the surrounding area. "Everyone can move here and then we'll seal off and power down the other areas."

Thompson rolled his eyes and nodded, "_Obviously_ we'll keep power for those who are cut off by the damaged sections."

Caldwell said, "Alright. Get on it."

McKay blinked slowly and then turned and glanced down at the console blearily.

Thompson glared at McKay angrily and huffed in anger. Caldwell acknowledged the guard again and went to check on another area. He thought that McKay had not looked very well and he hoped that the man would not push himself until he collapsed. If he was too stubborn to ask for help, then Caldwell was damned if he was going to call for assistance where it was unwelcome. He therefore pushed it to the back of his mind and headed up the corridor to organise the movement of the crew into the sections McKay had indicated.

* * *

"_Control to Colonel Sheppard."_ The voice blared over the intercom.

John rolled over in bed and grabbed his headset. He kept his eyes closed and clipped the radio behind his ear, "This is Sheppard, go ahead."

"_Please report to the control room immediately."_

John did not want to ask over the radio so he rolled all the way out of bed and stood up. "On my way."

He put the lights on low and squinted at the sudden brightness. His eyelids weighed down and threatened to close entirely as he stretched and glanced at his watch. It was 2am.

He knew that being the military leader on Atlantis often called for him to work at all hours due to the time difference on the planets they visited. He wondered which offworld team had got into trouble this time as he hastily threw on his uniform. He ran a comb through his hair before he dashed out of his quarters and over to the nearest transporter.

* * *

Sheppard stood in the briefing room ten minutes later. The room was crammed full of many tired looking people. The pilot who had flown the Jumper back to the gate from the Daedalus had just told them what had happened and passed the list of requirements to Mr Woolsey.

Staff from all departments were gathered in the room. Sheppard frowned in concern about what he had just heard and many people were standing there with their faces in shock after the preliminary death toll was read out.

John selfishly wanted to ask whether Rodney was alright, but he held his tongue as a heavy lead weight of worry settled in the pit of his stomach.

After all the requirements were assigned to the appropriate departments, Sheppard started organising the Jumpers. They needed to act quickly, as the latest intel from the Daedalus was that they were running out of power and therefore air.

He had fully woken up and felt adrenaline coursing through him as he arranged his teams. He decided that five Jumpers would be the most they could use for the mission as the rest were needed to protect the city and the offworld teams if they ran into trouble where they had been recalled back to Atlantis.

The science teams worked quickly, even in the absence of their domineering boss and the requested equipment, including a couple of Naquadah generators, were loaded onto the Jumpers. Jennifer Keller provided a large amount of medical equipment and left the infirmary in the capable hands of Dr McBride as she joined Sheppard in his Jumper.

John stepped out of the rear hatch and found Teyla and Ronon waiting for him. He sighed, "I'm really sorry."

Teyla nodded, "We understand. You need all the extra room to bring back the most seriously wounded."

Ronon grunted, "Still think we should be going."

John shook his head, "You need to look after Atlantis while we're gone."

Teyla furrowed her brow, "Do not worry, John. I have already asked, Rodney was fine before the Jumper left the Daedalus. I believe that it will still be so."

John felt the weight lessen, but not entirely vanish. He smiled grimly and nodded, "I'll see you in a few hours."

He stepped into his Jumper and sat down next to Jennifer.

A few minutes later, the Jumper lowered into the Gate Room, flew through the blue pool and out into space. They were too far away to see the Daedalus through the window, but John brought up the HUD and spotted a very weak power signature slowly drifting away from their location. He joined formation with the other four Jumpers and they flew at top speed on their urgent rescue mission.

* * *

"I need to go and see Radek, just for a few minutes. Make sure he's okay…"

"No, you can't. We've got work to do. Call the infirmary again on the radio if you must, but you have to stay here."

Rodney sighed sadly and furrowed his brow. He typed a few of the buttons with one hand and then stopped. He shook his head and closed his eyes. He still had his arm clamped over his middle and Thompson found it annoying at the same time as unnerving that McKay appeared to be weakening with every passing hour. To Thompson it looked like McKay was thoroughly broken and about to start crying.

Thompson glared at him and mentally cursed the softness of civilian scientists as he turned back to the systems he was rerouting.

He walked over to McKay as he continued to stand there with his eyes closed and winced. He let his anger and stress get the better of him and shook the man's shoulders quite brutally as he said, "Concentrate, McKay."

Rodney gasped and tried to push Thompson away, but he had so little strength he could not move the other man. Thompson sighed and let go. He backed away slowly and indicated the console with his hand and said, "Just hurry up with the modifications."

McKay looked back at him with a glazed expression, almost as though he was looking right through Thompson. It took a moment for the command to register and he returned a tight nod as he shifted his eyes down to the console again.

Suddenly the sound of a gunshot reverberated from the corridor just outside the room where the guard had been. Thompson frowned and cautiously approached the door with his sidearm drawn. McKay was cowering behind the console as his weapon had been taken away due to Thompson's accusation and the suspicion surrounding him.

Thompson was about to go through the door, when a man dashed around the corner and into engineering. A sharp pain exploded across Thompson's face and the next thing he knew, he had lost his gun and was lying on the floor with the attacker rounding on him with a knife.

The attacker was approaching too quickly for Thompson to get up and move out of the way, so he stayed down and braced himself for the inevitable as he got ready to roll out of the way. The man had a manic glint in his eyes, but Thompson did not recognise him.

Suddenly McKay stepped in between the attacker and Thompson and held up his hands. His voice broke as he said nervously, "Stop!"

Thompson frowned when the attacker _did_ stop and turned his attention from the man on the floor to the one facing him down. Thompson hoped McKay had radioed for help and was just buying time until it arrived.

The man cried, "We're all dead!" and thrust the knife forwards.

McKay barely avoided being stabbed as he swiftly backed away. He said, "Stop!" again, but his voice was quiet, almost as a whisper.

Thompson glanced around the room, but he could not see his gun. He rolled over onto all fours to get up, but the attacker ran over to him and kicked him in the head. He fell down again and was unaware of anything for several minutes as a loud ringing and pain clouded his senses.

As his hearing slowly started to come back, he heard a weak cry, "Gah!" and the sound of something landing on the floor nearby. There was another strange noise and Thompson opened his eyes to see what had just happened.

He sat up slowly and held his head. Major Feeney was standing in the doorway holding a Wraith stunner. The attacker was lying unconscious on the floor near to another crumpled figure. Thompson's eyes widened and he breathed, "McKay?"

Rodney released a passionate strangled sob as he rolled over onto his back. He was holding his leg around where there was a knife handle protruding from his thigh.

Feeney called for a medical team on his radio and went over to make sure the attacker was not going to get up and finish what he started.

Thompson crawled over to McKay's side and narrowed his eyes in confusion over how his heart clenched in fright and sympathy from McKay's pained cry and the sight of the blood rapidly soaking through the material around the knife buried in him.

Feeney said, "I heard the gunshot. Ran the rest of the way." He pulled a bandage out of his tac vest and handed it to Thompson, "Here, use this."

Thompson took the bandage and wrapped it carefully around the knife stuck in McKay's leg. He felt really guilty that he had hated McKay to the point where he had accused him of all the things he had with very little evidence. Now he had proof that it had definitely not been McKay who had been killing and attacking people. McKay had ended up getting hurt in order to protect Thompson and it only made him feel worse. If only the other man had had a gun, then they would probably have both be alright.

Thompson tied the bandage off around McKay's upper leg and stuttered, "I-I can't believe you just did that, McKay."

Rodney did not respond verbally. He screwed his face up more tightly and winced. Thompson checked him over for more injuries he may not have seen him receiving while he had been dazed by the kick. His eyes widened in shock when he found a massive bruise covering most of McKay's abdomen. His skin was a mixture of dark purple and red to the point of being almost black in some places under the dull light. He quickly hid his concern and finding no other new injuries, he could only wait for the medical team to arrive.

Thompson's nose was throbbing and his head ached unmercifully, but his main focus was the man lying in front of him. He rested his hand on McKay's shoulder and sighed before he said, "Hang in there, McKay, uh, Rodney."

That got his attention. McKay opened his eyes tiredly and his grin turned into a grimace as he slurred, "You called me… Rodney. Thought you… didn't like me."

"So did I," Thompson furrowed his brow and smiled. "Maybe I was wrong."

McKay looked up at him in bitter happiness, but his face suddenly fell as he inhaled a breath through his teeth and his whole body jolted from the flinch. Thompson grabbed McKay's hand as he flailed it about and squeezed gently. Rodney's grip was tight for a moment as he tensed up, but then it relaxed as he passed out and his head fell to the side.

* * *

TBC


	10. Picking Up the Pieces

_**Chapter 10 – Picking up the Pieces**_

Thompson continued to hold onto McKay's hand even after Rodney had been rendered unconscious. Part of him was trying to find comfort in the touch so that he could lessen his own guilty feelings of negligence as he felt partially responsible for McKay's condition. He also hoped it would break through and keep McKay alive in those precious few minutes before the medical team arrived.

He felt firm hands pulling him away and allowed them to guide him over to the wall as the newcomers swarmed around the man on the floor. He watched in a daze as they jabbed needles into McKay's arms and held IV bags aloft as they continued to work on him. He felt a sudden tiredness threatening to overwhelm him, but he was snapped out of it by his CO's voice.

"What happened here, Dr Thompson?"

Thompson relayed details of the attack as the medical team took Rodney away.

Caldwell asked, "What about Dr McKay? You said he got stabbed in the leg."

Thompson sighed and said, "I think he had internal bleeding from the falling bulkhead and when he was punched earlier."

Caldwell frowned, "And he didn't go or even ask to go to the infirmary?"

"No."

That was not entirely true though, as Thompson suddenly remembered that McKay had asked to go many times, but never for himself. He thought that maybe McKay had used his concern for Zelenka as a mask that he not only wanted to check on his friend, but to get himself checked out too. Thompson thought that McKay may have left it for too long though and he had little faith that the rudimentary conditions in the Daedalus infirmary would be enough so that the medical team could do anything for him.

Caldwell nodded, "Alright. I want you to continue working on the power grid. The rescue teams from Atlantis should be here within the hour."

* * *

Caldwell approached Major Feeney, who was still standing guard over the unconscious attacker. Caldwell knew the man; he had known him for over a year since he had come onboard the Daedalus. It was Corporal Simon Hollis.

Caldwell knew the brig would not be working, so he addressed the Major, "Take him to a spare room and restrain him. I want a guard of at least two on the door at all times."

With the assistance of one of his colleagues, Feeney grabbed the Corporal, who was slowly returning to consciousness, and took him away.

Caldwell was about to head over to the infirmary when his radio activated, _"Sheppard to Colonel Caldwell."_

He smiled as he replied, "Caldwell. Go ahead."

"_We've got some gear for you. Where do you need it?"_

"Not a moment too soon," Caldwell thought. He said, "Acknowledged. Bring the generators to engineering and take the medical supplies to the infirmary."

He glanced at Thompson who returned a relieved expression. He said, "Good work, Doctor."

Thompson nodded once, but then sighed and said, "It was mostly McKay."

Caldwell pursed his lips and then said, "Do what you can with the generators, I'm going to check in with Corporal Hollis and our guests."

He walked away and a few minutes later he was facing down the man who had probably murdered many members of his crew. Forensic evidence would need to be gathered and analysed before he made any accusations, but at least one attack was now confirmed.

Hollis had a crazed expression as he sat on the small metal chair by a table in the crew quarters doubling as a makeshift brig. He was glaring at the wall and did not acknowledge Caldwell's presence. Major Feeney had come into the room with him and had his stunner ready and aimed at Hollis.

Caldwell voiced his single question, "Why?"

Hollis chuckled, but the sound reverberated hollow emptiness, devoid of all mirth. He glanced up at Caldwell and his eyes were blank and emotionless as he started muttering, "We're all going to die out here. Space… space and Wraith." As he continued to babble, he rocked back and forth gently and closed his eyes.

Feeney mumbled, "He looks a little twitchy. Shall I stun him again, sir?"

Caldwell saw that he was handcuffed to the desk by the chair and shook his head, "No, Major. Make sure he stays here and no-one else can get to him."

Caldwell hoped Feeney understood the hidden meaning in his orders. Lots of angry and scared people would be looking for revenge as soon as they found out about the attacks and needless deaths. Hollis was the only one they could heap their grief upon and Caldwell trusted Major Feeney to protect him against any potential vigilantes until he could be properly secured and returned to Earth for the help he needed.

* * *

Doctor Jenkins regarded her fragile patient as he lay on a hastily vacated gurney. The man who had been occupying the bed was now being tended on the floor as McKay's more serious condition had necessitated use of the bed.

She knew they had no more blood left to transfuse. The last of their supply had been used during Dr Zelenka's surgery. She sighed as the heart monitor hooked up to him continued to beep alarmingly fast nearby and the low blood pressure alarms sounded.

She knew McKay had been thoroughly checked several hours ago after he had been hit and no life threatening bleed was noted. He had then been emphatically told to return if he got worse or any new symptoms developed. He had not and now the internal abdominal bleeding had spread to such an extent that his life was in the balance.

She sighed as a grim choice formed in her mind. They could operate to repair the damage and risk the chance that the surgery would kill him or wait and hope that he was strong enough to survive until the rescue came with the requested medical supplies. Either way, they would need to do something soon to ease the pressure on McKay's diaphragm. The knife in his leg had been well wrapped, but not removed, to prevent any further blood loss.

Her medical team stood nearby and watched her in expectation. One was using a hand pump to ventilate McKay through the breathing tube in his mouth leading down into his lungs.

Jenkins sighed and furrowed her brow as the seconds ticked by. She was just about to issue her orders when someone behind her asked, "Need any help?"

Jenkins frowned in confusion and spun around. She almost laughed in relief when she saw Dr Keller standing there with what looked like half the medical staff from Atlantis along with trolleys of equipment.

She gestured to McKay and said, "Definitely."

* * *

Sheppard had heard about what happened to McKay the moment he came onboard the Daedalus. He had forced his concerns aside when Jennifer exchanged a worried look with him and then dashed to the infirmary with her team and equipment. He knew Rodney was in the best hands he could be as far away from civilisation as they currently were.

He had helped the others carry the generators over to engineering. Caldwell had then asked him to carry out a structural analysis of the Daedalus using the Puddle Jumper's advanced sensors and feed the results back to main engineering.

He was currently out in space while he patiently waited for his next order.

"_Caldwell to Sheppard."_

"Go ahead."

_"The analysis is complete. Until we know it's safe to reinitialise the engines, I'd prefer it if we were a little closer than five hours away from the nearest help."_

"The takeaway pizza would get cold in all that time, sir."

_"Precisely. I'm transmitting coordinates to you now. They're grapple points. My acting chief engineer, Dr Thompson, advised that you could use them to tow the Daedalus nearer the gate."_

Sheppard raised his eyebrows and Caldwell continued, _"I'd like you to liaise with Thompson about exactly how to do this, Colonel. Make sure my ship stays in one piece."_

"Yes, sir."

Sheppard was finding it increasingly difficult not to radio the Daedalus for a report on McKay's condition, but he stopped himself. There were more people in danger than his friend and he needed to keep his emotions in check if he was to work to his best ability in order to help them all.

A few minutes later, he shot the Jumper's grapple and joined the other small ships which had come to help. They then began the slow and arduous process of towing a much larger and badly damaged spaceship halfway across a solar system whilst making sure none of the ships fell apart.

* * *

A few hours later, Sheppard was sitting in the briefing room along with Caldwell, Thompson and Mr Woolsey. Every member of the medical staff was assisting in treating the injured. McKay had come out of surgery and had joined the steady stream of medical and science personnel going through the gate in Jumpers back and forth from the Daedalus. The ship was now positioned right next to the gate on the other side.

Mr Woolsey had remained silent while the rest of the information about what had happened on the Daedalus was relayed to him from Caldwell.

At the end, the Colonel said, "We now have the evidence we need to prove that Corporal Hollis not only carried out the murders, but also sabotaged the systems and called the Wraith down on us."

Sheppard frowned, "Any ideas why he did it?"

Caldwell looked uncomfortable for a moment, "Unfortunately, yes."

He paused and appeared to gather his thoughts, before he spoke carefully, "Corporal Simon Hollis has been on my ship for over a year. In all that time, he's only been off the ship once, which was when it was being refitted with the Asgard plasma beams and other upgrades. But he spent that time underground at Stargate Command."

Sheppard baulked, "So he hasn't seen anything other than interior spaceship hulls and concrete in all that time?"

"Yes."

Sheppard released a low whistle and muttered, "Cabin fever…"

Caldwell inhaled a deep breath before he spoke again, "He's in the brig on Atlantis for now." He nodded his thanks to Mr Woolsey, "And then we'll take him back to Earth. We should be able to find a nice outdoor place where he can be looked after."

"And see the sun again," Sheppard added.

"Yes." Caldwell turned to Thompson and said, "Now for the condition of the Daedalus, I'll turn your attention to Dr Thompson."

Thompson nodded and said, "Yes, sir. Repairs are underway now with the assistance of the science department from Atlantis. We should have main engines online within the next day and enough to form a hyperspace window to get to Atlantis a short while later. With your permission, Mr Woolsey and Colonel Caldwell, sir, it would be better if we landed the Daedalus on one of the piers to avoid so many EVAs to repair the hull."

Mr Woolsey nodded and Caldwell looked at him for approval before he voiced his own decision, "Agreed. The Apollo is also on its way to offer assistance."

Thompson smiled and Mr Woolsey said, "Alright, you all have a lot of work to do. We can meet again for a more in depth mission report at a later date."

Everyone got up to leave, but Sheppard was still not quite finished, "Dr Thompson?"

He remained and looked puzzled as Woolsey and Caldwell left the room and the doors swung shut behind them.

"Colonel Sheppard."

John was very angry about what had happened to Rodney when he had left his friend to the care of the Daedalus crew. Sheppard had tried to visit McKay, but the infirmary staff had sent him away. However, they had told him that Rodney had spent many hours suffering from a slow internal bleed and that it must have been absolute agony. They were all surprised he had been able to function at all, let alone repair systems in his condition. The Daedalus crew had all but killed him in their failure to protect the scientist where Sheppard had trusted them.

He knew that Thompson was the one who had spent the most time with McKay so the responsibility fell mostly on him. He said dangerously, "I can't believe you let McKay work in his condition. He shouldn't have kept going while he was hurt."

Thompson looked down in guilt and mumbled, "I didn't know it was so bad. I thought he was alright."

Sheppard continued to glare at him. He knew McKay could be difficult to manage if many lives depended on him. His arrogance always made him believe he was the only one who would be able to save everyone in time. Even if he killed himself in the process, McKay had a mentality that always forced him to carry on regardless of his own pain and fear.

Sheppard knew that had he been there he would have made McKay return to the Daedalus infirmary. He also knew that few other people would have seen the signs to do the same or would have had the nerve to ask him to go.

He sighed and said, "You're lucky he's so stubborn or he'd be dead right now."

Thompson said sadly, "Why did he continue to work with it?"

"He's Rodney McKay, it's what he does."

"So everything written about him in the reports is true?"

Sheppard softened his expression and nodded, "Yes, every last detail. I should know; I was there for most of the missions."

He patted Thompson on the back as he walked past. "I'm going down to check on McKay and Zelenka. You know, it might be easier to get past the infirmary staff with both of us going. That is, if you can spare a few minutes?"

Thompson frowned in confusion as he asked, "Strength in numbers?"

Sheppard smiled grimly, "Something like that."

* * *

TBC


	11. Hidden Amends

_**Chapter 11 – Hidden Amends**_

Thompson sat next to McKay in the infirmary. Colonel Sheppard had given him a few minutes alone with Rodney while he went to get some food. It was a day since the Daedalus had limped its way to Atlantis and accomplished an extremely wobbly and nerve wracking orbital descent to land on the pier. Thompson had very little time to spare, but he used all he could to visit his fellow crewmembers in the infirmary.

He frowned at McKay's pale face and the tube sticking from his mouth which led to the machine still breathing for him. The bruise on his face was slowly fading and there was a row of neat stitches on his cheek.

"So, you _are_ human after all," Thompson thought as he remembered his previous opinion of McKay.

His own deep sigh was drowned out by the hiss of the ventilator. He suddenly felt a compulsion to reach forward and squeeze Rodney's shoulder. As he did, he furrowed his brow and said, "I'm sorry, Rodney."

He lowered his voice even more as he whispered, "I shouldn't have accused you of the murders. I just thought…" He frowned and paused, "Actually, I don't know what I was thinking. You were just there and it was so easy to blame you."

Rodney continued to sleep and his face remained slack and did not shift at all to show that he was listening. Thompson found it was a startling change from the animation he had witnessed in McKay's features when he was conscious.

Thompson kept his hand on Rodney's shoulder and said, "And I want to thank you. We'd all be dead if it wasn't for you. I don't think I would've been able to hold it all together and reroute the systems as quickly as you did to save us."

Thompson frowned and released his grip. A voice behind him made him jump. "I hope he's still unconscious."

He turned and found Colonel Sheppard had returned. He was puzzled by the comment and asked, "Why?"

"If he isn't, then I doubt whether he'll ever be able to leave the infirmary."

Thompson's heart plummeted and his mouth suddenly became dry. Some of his fear must have shone through, because Sheppard laughed before he elaborated, "His head's big enough as it is with that planet sized ego. You really don't want to be feeding it too much or he won't get through the door."

"Oh!" Thompson found himself smiling and said, "Okay!"

Sheppard did not have to say any more and Thompson quickly vacated the seat as he allowed Rodney's friend to continue the vigil. He still had a huge amount of work to do on the Daedalus; otherwise he would have stayed a lot longer.

* * *

"How come he gets a laptop?" Radek asked indignantly as he lay on his own bed next to Rodney's in the infirmary a few days later. Both of them were still heavily bandaged and well medicated after the ordeals they had been through.

McKay was typing away on the keyboard as Sheppard sat in between them with his PDA. Apart from the medical staff, they were the only ones left in the Atlantis infirmary. The others had been transferred to the Daedalus as the running repairs neared completion.

John paused and frowned, "Good question. Who gave it to you?"

"Dunno," Rodney lied.

John shrugged at Radek nonchalantly, but he raised his eyebrows in a warning look at McKay. He asked, "What're you doing on there anyway?"

"Debunking bad science via email."

"Thompson?"

Rodney grimaced as he stopped typing, "Yes."

Sheppard smirked, "You do know how sorry he is, right?"

"Yes, but he keeps on sending me these crazy ideas and I have to send them all back with amendments." Rodney was flagging as the pressure of the computer in his lap started to hurt him and his face tightened in pain.

Sheppard retrieved the laptop and placed it on the table next to him. Rodney let out a long breath and rested his hands on the bandages around his midsection. He then closed his eyes and lay back into the pillows.

Radek shifted the arm he had in a sling and winced. He said, "Perhaps he sees it as penance for accusing you, hmm?"

Rodney kept his eyes closed and said indignantly, "By making me trawl through hundreds of emails with flawed upgrades and schematics? Feels more like I'm still paying the price myself."

Sheppard nodded in understanding, "That's a lot of apologies, McKay."

"Hmm." Rodney opened one eye and peered at the two men looking at him expectantly. He sighed and said, "Alright, alright. Some of the ideas _are_ good. With a little work I'm sure we can knock something together."

John smiled, "There, you see. Now don't be too harsh on him."

Rodney shook his head in exasperation and then threatened to drift off to sleep. He moaned, "When can I get out of here?"

Sheppard said, "When you're better, McKay."

John reached up and tapped his radio as he received an incoming transmission, "Sheppard… Yes… Good… We'll be right there."

He turned to the door of the infirmary as Ronon and Teyla came in. They walked across the room and stood in front of Radek and Rodney's beds.

Teyla said, "We have something to show you. Dr Keller advised that you are both well enough to leave the infirmary for a short while."

Rodney opened his eyes at the sound of her voice and looked confused, "But it hurts just lying still like this. I don't really want to move anywhere."

Ronon walked over to the side of the infirmary and came back with a wheelchair. Rodney's face fell even further and he furrowed his brow, "Which part of pain do you not understand?" He looked down sadly and said loudly enough to carry across the room, "Oh, yes. I forgot. You don't feel pain like the rest of us mere mortals, do you?"

Ronon smiled and grunted, "Sure. I just don't whine about it all the time." He wheeled the chair round and they helped Rodney to settle. He kept both arms wrapped around himself as they moved him.

John placed his hand on Rodney's shoulder and crouched down next to him as he asked, "Alright?"

McKay winced as he opened his eyes and looked sideways at John, "No, but now I just want to know what this mystery thing is."

Teyla said, "Do not worry. It will only be for a few minutes." She glanced at Radek and then said, "We must hurry though, or it will be too late."

Radek and Rodney started to look worried the moment Teyla had spoken, where they had not been before.

Zelenka was soon in a second wheelchair and Ronon pushed him, while Sheppard took Rodney. Teyla led the way as they went to the nearest transporter.

* * *

"I've already seen it." Rodney said in annoyance as they came to a balcony on one of the outer towers overlooking a pier.

Ronon pointed at the Daedalus on the pier beneath them and said, "Not like this you haven't."

There were blackened scorch marks on much of the hull of the ship, but there was no-one outside anymore as they had been for the past few days.

Radek narrowed his eyes, "They can't be…"

John nodded, "Well, they are."

Rodney scrunched his face up in anger, "Are you going to let me in on your mental link or are you just trying to annoy me so that I split my stitches?"

Teyla rolled her eyes, "Watch."

They waited for a few seconds and suddenly the roar of engines could be heard and the Daedalus lifted off the pier. The noise was too much for them to speak as the ship flew up higher and higher until it was just a tiny grey glint against the blue sky.

Rodney asked, "How on Earth did they repair it so quickly?"

John said, "It was Thompson. And he asked me to pass a message onto you, Rodney."

"Really?" McKay replied in sarcastic disbelief.

"Yes. He said, 'Thanks to your helpful suggestions via email, the necessary repairs to return to Earth have been completed much faster than he ever anticipated.'"

"Huh?" Rodney quietly exclaimed in surprise.

"Sure. They'll be meeting up with the Apollo halfway back to Earth and will fly the rest of the way together."

Rodney raised his eyebrows and smiled lopsidedly. His face soon dropped as he whispered, "I think I'd like to go back to the infirmary now."

"Me too," Radek chipped in.

They waited for a few more seconds until the Daedalus was beyond sight and then wheeled the two injured scientists back to the infirmary to continue the healing process.

Sheppard leant over and spoke in Rodney's ear as he was pushing him along the corridor, "Thompson didn't really want me to tell you this either, but he said that the science team on Atlantis are not only a credit to the expedition, but to you as well, Rodney. See, even when you're unconscious, your people are still scared of you."

Rodney did not say anything, he just smiled happily as the entire group entered the transporter.

* * *

The End

A/N – There you are! Thank you for your lovely comments. I always enjoy reading what you think.

So, what's next? Well, I'm already posting _'A Hundred Ways Rodney Felt Pain' _and I will now start work on _'Tales From the Pegasus Galaxy.' _(Of course_ 'Puddle Jumper Mayhem' _goes on (and on) too!)


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